<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Rise of the Deep Ones by Cortana_taking_flight</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29500368">Rise of the Deep Ones</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cortana_taking_flight/pseuds/Cortana_taking_flight'>Cortana_taking_flight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adventure, Dwemer (Elder Scrolls), F/M, Fantasy, High Rock (Elder Scrolls), Post-Canon, Romance, Slow Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:26:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,845</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29500368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cortana_taking_flight/pseuds/Cortana_taking_flight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Several years after the end of Skyrim's civil war, old foes make a mysterious resurgence in Skyrim. Whispers of a new war start to enter into Alys' life after she meets a legate from the Imperial Legion. Little does Alys know that her life will be changed forever by a chance encounter.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hadvar (Elder Scrolls)/Original Character(s)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Prologue</p><p>            Rays of early dawn light pierced through the windows of Proudspire Manor. It illuminated the bed where Jorn lay. He sat up in his bed and stretched after sensing that the sun was climbing higher in the sky. Judging by the amount of sunlight in the room, he thought it was going to be a pleasant summer day. He turned his head to find that the spot next to him that was usually occupied by Mauve was empty.</p><p>Mauve was an early riser anyways and was likely working on her alchemical recipe book she was hoping to publish by the end of Evening Star. Jorn slipped on his tan cotton breeches and made his way down the smooth stone stairs to the kitchen. Mauve’s flaxen hair practically glowed in the sunlight. The Imperial only grew more beautiful by the day in Jorn’s eyes.</p><p>            “I didn’t expect to see you up so early Jorn” Mauve remarked in her soft-spoken voice. “I had a hard time sleeping last night, so I decided to work on my book this morning.” She grinned at him and continued to tend to her hodgepodge of subterranean plants in the dark corner of the kitchen.</p><p>            “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a bit obsessive?”</p><p>            Mauve shot him a sharp glance. “No comment.”</p><p>            “I merely jest my love” Jorn told her as he wrapped his arms around Mauve. Her blonde hair smelled of the lavender hair oil she formulated recently. “We should go ingredient hunting later today” he suggested to her, moving her hair to the side.</p><p>            “Perhaps” she said nervously. “But only if we can take Iona and Baird with us. It’s been ten years and I am still terrified of the wilds here.”</p><p>            “We can take them with us too, I’ll do anything that will make you feel safer” he assured her.</p><p>            “That reminds me, I have a present for you” she told him as she gently removed herself from Jorn’s tight embrace. She sauntered down the stairs towards the basement that housed her small laboratory.</p><p>            Mauve’s fear of Skyrim’s harsh wilderness was understandable, given her circumstances. She lived in the Imperial City for most of her life, until she moved to Skyrim with her sister, who became a Praefect in the legion and was stationed in Solitude. Jorn knew that Mauve longed to move back to the Imperial City, even though their living situation is far better here in Solitude. Even with their modest wealth, they would struggle to afford anything beyond the Waterfront district or the outer villages surrounding the city. Much of the Imperial City still bore scars from the Great War; the waterfront district suffered greatly from the great fire that consumed much of the district.</p><p>            His parents were veterans of the Great War and managed to eke out a modest existence on the Imperial waterfront. They raised him to honor his Nord heritage, albeit quietly when it came to Talos worship. He often dreamed of going to Skyrim, the land of his ancestors to view the rugged landscapes and frozen tundra. His dream came true when he landed a job with a trade caravan that was heading north to Whiterun, the great tundra metropolis. The entire journey was successful until they were caught up in a skirmish between the Legion and the Stormcloacks in Pale Pass--</p><p>            Knock knock!</p><p>            Jorn was whipped out of his reminiscent thoughts by the knocks on the door. Probably an adoring fan wanting something from the Dragonborn. He had hired several guards to man the property to ensure that both he and Mauve were not harassed by people. Whenever Jorn was gone on either Legion or Dragonborn business, people would often harass Mauve and beg for an audience with Jorn, often in hope that he would solve their problems for them. Mauve quickly gave up trying to handle the sheer number of requests she was receiving on Jorn’s behalf from the people of Skyrim. Jorn personally believed that there were thousands of warriors in Skyrim that were more capable than he of helping out their neighbors.</p><p>            Much to his surprise, he opened the door to see the pompous oaf that was his fellow Thane of Haafingar, Erikur. Generally, he respected Erikur’s savviness for business; however, Erikur had a reputation for valuing the all-mighty sovereign over morals. It didn’t sit well with the other Thanes that Erikur had a great deal of business deals with the local Thalmor Embassy. Many of the other nobles in Solitude harbored resentment towards the Thalmor due to their sheer amount of influence over Skyrim politics.</p><p>            “Greetings to you Thane” Jorn bowed his head in acknowledgement of his colleague. “What brings you here this fine morning?” He tried to mask his resentment of the man with a guise of pleasantries.</p><p>            “Business” Erikur’s harsh voice answered. “Thane Bryling and I are inviting you to a meeting with the new Thalmor ambassador in Castle Dour this evening.”</p><p>            “Thane Erikur, your invitation flatters me. Unfortunately, I must decline your invitation for the meeting with this new ambassador, for I have other obligations this evening” he said curtly.</p><p>            Right as he said that, Mauve came up the stairs holding in her hands a small wooden box.</p><p>            “Honey, here is your present, I hope—oh, hello Thane Erikur” Mauve said, clearly caught off-guard by Erikur’s presence. She often became flustered around the various nobles in Jorn’s circle.</p><p>            “You look lovely today Lady Ivar” Erikur said politely. He gave her a quick glance and turned his attention back to Jorn. “I will let the ambassador know the famed Dragonborn is far too busy to meet with him tonight. I shall take my leave now, good day.”</p><p>            Jorn slammed the double doors shut and locked them as Erikur took his leave. He felt a pit of uneasiness grow in his stomach. The Thalmor had never retaliated against him, despite the fact that he had killed several Thalmor agents during his infiltration of the Haafingar embassy five years prior. However; he did not think himself to be naïve enough to believe that the Thalmor had forgiven his actions. Rather, they were biding their time until it became convenient to make him disappear.</p><p>            “Maybe the new ambassador would be more amicable than Elenwen, Jorn” Mauve tried to say confidently. She gripped his scarred hands and smoothed back his auburn hair.</p><p>            “I wish I shared your optimism.”</p><p>“Before I forget…” Mauve’s soft voice whispered to him as she slipped a leather cord with a smooth topaz pendant across his wrist. “It’s for the nightmares. I know you don’t want to discuss them, but this should help ease your mind at night.”</p><p>            “I…thank you my love” he stammered out in surprise.</p><p>            “Come on Jorn, I need your help with some proof-reading. It’ll help get your mind off of things.”</p><p>            The entire day followed the same rhythm as the days since Jorn had retired two years ago from the Legion and studying with the Graybeards. He had married Mauve four years ago, but they had been apart for the first two years of their marriage. At that point, he had quelled Alduin’s dragon uprising and felt that it was his duty to stop the stormcloak rebellion.</p><p>But the Stormcloak uprising was a fire that would not extinguish. He was still haunted by images of body mounds and the foul stench of burned flesh from funeral pyres. After General Tullius swung his sword to decapitate Ulfric Stormcloak, the bloody war had come to a sudden end. Ulfric’s rebellion cost the lives of tens of thousands of both soldiers and civilians. It tore apart families as they bore arms against one another. His dear friend Hadvar once asked him if he ever saw the dead when he closed his eyes. During the war itself, he never had nightmares. That all changed when he went home to his wife.</p><p>“Did you hear that?”</p><p>“Hear what?”</p><p>“I swear I heard footsteps in the basement. I doubt it was Iona or Baird—they always knock before they come in.”</p><p>“It’s okay Mauve, we’ll go upstairs and get my sword” he reassured her.</p><p>Mauve rotated her hand and sparks were rising out of her palm. Her skill with spark magic was often enough to intimidate any who would wish her harm. She glanced at Jorn while she took a deep breath.</p><p>“Just in case”</p><p>They slowly meandered up the stairs to their bedroom, where he had several of his swords on display. His favorite sword was the jagged dragon bone sword that was forged upon the legendary fires of the Skyforge by Eorlund Gray-Mane. He grasped the hilt of the sword and dragged it out of the rack.</p><p>“Jorn! Behind you!”</p><p>Mauve opened her mouth to scream but the paralysis spell let loose by the three Thalmor agents froze her in that state. Jorn’s burly Nordic body was being dragged out of the bedroom by one of the agents. They weren’t too concerned about Mauve, they just wanted Jorn.</p><p>The paralysis spell slowly wore off Jorn by the next morning. He woke up to cold stone pressing into his back. There were hundreds of voices shouting about something he couldn’t quite understand. Golden armor gleamed in the corner of his brown eyes and he attempted to stand up. Before he could get off the ground, he felt a force lurch him off the ground. He realized where he was and dread built up in his stomach. Shit, now he remembered how he ended up here, he had been kidnapped in his own by Thalmor agents!</p><p>“I am Ambassador Ondelo of the Aldemeri Dominion. My predecessor was far too lenient with the upholding of the White-Gold Concordant here in Solitude. I’m simply here to correct the mistakes of my predecessor” his nasally voice echoed at the executioner’s block.</p><p>The mob was shocked and most of them looked on in horror as they figured out Ondelo’s plan for Jorn, their beloved Dragonborn.</p><p>“We find Jorn Ivar, of the Imperial City to be guilty of three charges. The first is the worship of Tiber Septim, an act which is prohibited by the White-Gold Concordant. The second is murder of seven Thalmor agents at the Haafingar Embassy five years ago. We also find him of withholding information about two Blades agents from the Thalmor.”</p><p>“This is an outrage!” one brave soul in the crowd shouted. Hundreds of spectators had gathered in the square by the gate at this point; while the rest of Solitude was too afraid to leave their houses, lest the Thalmor take over Solitude.</p><p>“Perhaps it is. What I find to be an outrage is that there is nothing you men can do to challenge the might of the Aldemeri Dominion.”</p><p>Ondelo used his telekinesis spell to levitate Jorn’s back towards him. He drew out a gleaming daedric dagger and held it up to Jorn’s throat. Jorn was still in a delirious state, unable to defend himself. His limp body levitated in the air and several spectators drew their swords in protest of this injustice.</p><p>“The Empire signed a deal thirty years ago and they need to uphold the terms. I deem that the appropriate punishment for so openly defying the Thalmor is a swift death” Ondelo said menacingly.</p><p>            Jorn opened his eyes and saw the vast crowd gathered in front of him. His eyes darted across the crowd, hoping for one last glimpse of Mauve. Unable to find her, he took a shallow breath and screamed as he felt the white hot pain of a dagger slice on his neck.</p><p>Ondelo whipped the dagger over Jorn’s throat and blood spurted from his throat as Jorn’s fresh corpse collapsed on the blood-soaked stones. His corpse was lit on fire by one of the other Thalmor agents on the platform.</p><p>Several brave souls charged towards the Thalmor agents to seek their vengeance. Spells and swords clashed in the plaza and soon rioting filled the streets of Solitude. The thousands of Legion reserves stood ready at the entrances to Castle Dour, unable to help the Solitude guards handle the chaos.  </p><p>General Tullius was watching the chaos break out in the streets and felt powerless. Legate Rikke drew her sword and looked ready to leap down the ramparts to the defense of Solitude’s residents. He shook his head at her. They could not intervene, by doing so they would risk starting another war for which the Imperial Legion was unprepared.</p><p>“I can’t believe he’s gone. For Talos’ sake, he is the only reason we’re all alive now!” Mauve shrieked in grief.</p><p>“Good deeds are overlooked in the pursuit of power, Mistress Ivar” General Tullius told her. “Come with me, I have something I need to show you.”</p><p>He led Mauve towards two of his most trusted legates. Legate Dericksson and Legate Storm-Cloud were both clad in sturdy leather armor and were devoid of anything that marked them as Legionnaires. Legate Dericksson held out a wolf fur cuirass for Mauve to put on, along with a steel short sword.</p><p>Mauve reluctantly slid on the fur cuirass and tied the sword belt around her thin hips. She was never one for wearing a heavy sword belt, always preferring her spells in times of need.</p><p>“Ma’am, I was with your husband, back at Helgen. Even though he was my prisoner, he saved my life. I reckon I have a debt to Jorn that will never be repaid now. The best I can do to repay that debt is to keep you safe” Legate Dericksson told her in his calming voice.</p><p>“Mistress Ivar, I have tasked these two legates to take you to Daggerfall. Legate Storm-Cloud is from one of the Reachmen tribes and will be able to guide you both through the Dragontail mountains” Tullius informed Mauve.</p><p>Her eyes grew large at the thought of going through Forsworn territory and being on the run from Thalmor agents.</p><p>“Come on Mistress Ivar, we’re going to sneak out of Solitude while the Thalmor are occupied” Legate Storm-Cloud said boldly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter One</p><p>            <em>4E 206 Fifth Day of Sun’s Height</em></p><p>
  <em>Dear Marion Evanicci,</em>
</p><p>            <em>I recently became aware of your decision to withhold funding from my research project. Studying Dwemer civilizations has proven to be highly profitable ventures for many researchers over the past decade. The College of Whispers would greatly benefit from any potential findings my research would unearth. </em></p><p>
  <em>I disagree with your notion that this venture is a waste of your organization’s resources. Yes, I do know the Dwemer are a dead civilization, wiped off the face of Nirn. That matters not, their decayed society surpasses even the sophistication of Alinor. I already have the transcripts I mentioned previously, I just need to hire an engineer and a translator. We could potentially learn how to replicate the design process behind most Dwemer machinations. The value of such knowledge is priceless and would come at such a low initial investment price. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Perhaps I should request funding from the Synod? </em>
</p><p>
  <em>With much due respect, </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Alys Marya Rivers</em>
</p><p>The mugginess of the summer heat was driving Alys mad on the porch overlooking the verdant green pastures that belonged to her family. Only yesterday had she received word indirectly, that her research project was denied funding by The College of Whispers. She knew that the Synod would reject it, since they seemed to steer clear of any research that would be remotely useful. Still, levying the rivalry between the two factions had proven to be useful in the past, no reason to assume that it wouldn’t succeed this time.</p><p>Needing to stretch her legs, she got out of the wicker chair and paced around the patio. Frustration was at the top of her mind. At this point, she had been studying Dwemer culture for the past ten years. She had been a member of the College of Whispers for the past six years at their small cynosure outside of Wayrest. While her parents had disapproved of her studying with the College of Whispers, instead of with the highly respected Synod mages, they eventually accepted that her research ideas would gain more traction with the College of Whispers. The Synod seemed like more of a political association instead of a magical research organization in Alys’ opinion.</p><p>“Alys, pacing around isn’t going to help you get grant money faster” Idelsan commented. He walked up to his big sister and gave her a hug. “For what it’s worth sister, I think you have a brilliant mind.”</p><p>“Thanks, Idelsan.”</p><p>“Why don’t you just ask Mother and Father to invest? You only requested three thousand septims.”</p><p>“Idelsan, I can’t just ask them for money for my research. It’s bad enough I’m twenty-five and still living here in the villa. I don’t really contribute anything to their business either. At this point, I’m just a freeloader.”</p><p>“Oh Alys. You know Mother and Father would do anything to support your projects, they love having you here. Come on, let’s saddle up the horses. Bleu is getting fat and lazy; he needs the exercise.”</p><p>“Let’s ride up to Sunderhill.”</p><p>“All right, let’s go.”</p><p>Alys strapped on her navy-blue leather cuirass and boots. She didn’t expect to run into bandits or bears; however, there’s no harm in being prepared. Idelsan shoved a helm over his bountiful head of black curls. He was the spitting image of their Redguard father. Idelsan was planning to take over the stables when their parents were ready to retire. He had a knack for both buttering up customers and climbing the social ranks of Wayrest’s elite nobles.</p><p>When they got to their family’s personal stable, they snatched their riding gear off a rack and walked into the pen where Bleu and Brie were eager to see them. Even though she didn’t spend much time riding anymore, Bleu was always happy to see her. He was a sturdy thoroughbred and a gift from her parents when she had turned twenty. Gray horses were often sold at a premium, and Alys was surprised when they decided to give her one of their only gray horses.</p><p>Idelsan and Alys mounted their steeds and trotted out of the pasture, and onto one of the paths that led up into the foothills at the edge of their property. A slight breeze whispered through all of the birch and aspens that dotted the property. Wildflowers dot the land and deer drink from the soothing rivers. Alys had traveled throughout High Rock and Western Cyrodiil—there was no place that held a candle to the gentle hills and luscious meadows of the Shornhelm region.</p><p>Their parents were truly a success story. Lakel, their father, had worked as a guard for the East Empire Trading company and Sorriyn, their mother had managed bank accounts for their Solitude branch. They had met in Solitude nearly thirty summers ago, while Lakel had a six-month stint as a bank guard at that branch. They were married several years later and settled briefly in Lakel’s hometown of Taneth. Unfortunately, Hammerfell was suffering from much internal strife and Sorriyn decided that they should flee to Wayrest, her home city. They used all of their coin to buy one of the small stables outside of Wayrest and slowly invested more money into their business, until they owned the largest herd of Cyrodiilic thoroughbreds in Wayrest. Nobles and couriers throughout southern High Rock coveted their sturdy yet quick steeds.</p><p>Bleu started to pick up the pace of his trotting—Alys forgot that Bleu often grew impatient if he was not allowed to pace on the trails at full speed. Idelsan nudged Brie to pick up her pace and soon they were going at the same space.</p><p>“I thought it would do you some good to get out of the house for at least a few hours. You’ve been obsessed with those dusty Falmer scrolls for days now” Idelsan remarked.</p><p>“Idelsan, I’m not studying those abominations. The Dwemer are my specialty” Alys responded in an exasperated tone.</p><p>“Why don’t you study the Falmer? Barely anyone studies them, plus they still exist.”</p><p>“The Falmer are fascinating, yes. But they’re unapproachable and will maul you to death with their poisoned clubs. I heard rumors that one true Falmer is still alive somewhere in Skyrim—oh how I would love to meet him. The Dwemer are far more intriguing to me, although I will admit they were a cruel and godless race.”</p><p>“Suit yourself. Anyways, a little birdie told me recently that father is getting a promotion from the Yarwood family. Do you know what that means Alys?!” Idelsan exclaimed, his voice brimming with excitement.</p><p>“Oh, by the old gods. They’re not making him a duke are they?”</p><p>“They are! Isn’t it exciting? Alys, you won’t even have to worry about appeasing the troubled masters of the college anymore for funding. Now all you have to do is play the petty mind games of the nobles to get research money.”</p><p>            “Idelsan, their games are dirty and exploit the commoners. I want nothing to do with their sorry existences.”</p><p>            “Oh Alys, you’re no fun anymore.”</p><p>            Alys shot him a look as sharp as a honed dagger. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky and pink hues colored the blue skies. Mountain lions and wolves would soon roam the hills, in search of their prey. She was going to mention to Idelsan that they should head back soon.</p><p>            Snap!</p><p>            The sound of twigs snapping grabbed her attention. Idelsan was about to dismount Brie, but Alys held up her hand to cast a spell. A red hue lit her skin as she casted a detect life spell. It was weak, but she would be able to tell what was causing the twigs to snap. She focused her gaze towards the small crick nearby that was hidden by dogwood shrubs.</p><p>            “What do you see?”</p><p>            “I think we have three trespassers, Idelsan”</p><p>            The three red blurs she saw in her vision were likely getting a drink from the crick’s crystalline water. They were either poachers or vagabonds, both of which were unwelcome on their lands. Right now, the trio did not seem aware they were not the only souls in this forest. Alys signaled to Idelsan that they should get closer to the trespassers and dismount their horses</p><p>            She crept closer to the red blurs to listen in on their conversation. The dogwood thinned at as they got within several paces behind them. Her heart practically stopped for a second when she saw the tattooed body of a fellow Breton. Had Forsworn decided to come this far south to spread their sacrificial ways?  She got a better glimpse of the potential Forsworn’s companions. One of them appeared to be a paranoid-looking imperial woman and the other to be a tall Nordic man. What an unusual trio to find in this part of Highrock. Typical Nords prefer to stay in the frigid border city of Jehenna. Reachmen were hard to find outside of the Dragontail mountains. Plus, Imperials tended to prefer Daggerfall and Camlorn if they were to stay in Highrock.</p><p>            “Legate Derickkson, how much longer are we going to be stuck out here?” the small imperial woman asked the Nordic man. “I prefer it over Skyrim, but I miss civilization.”</p><p>            Alys noticed that the Imperial seemed to have red circles around her eyes. Perhaps from crying too much?</p><p>            “No need to worry about titles out here, Mauve. Please, just call me Hadvar.”</p><p>            Alys felt that there was something different about this trio when compared to the usual trespassers they found on their property. They seemed harmless enough; she signaled Idelsan that they should get back on their horses. Bleu let out an unfortunately loud nicker as she climbed into the saddle. Shit, she thought. She at least wanted to inquire them about their intentions.</p><p>            “I noticed you spying on us” a harsh women’s voice said behind her.</p><p>            Alys got Bleu to practically turn on a dime as she turned to face the Reachwoman. She had her silver axe drawn as she approached Alys and Idelsan. The Nord and the Imperial flanked her on both sides.</p><p>            “And I noticed that you three are trespassers. Tell me, are you vagabonds or poachers? My family worked hard to purchase these lands, we do not tolerate anyone violating them.” <br/>            Idelsan sounded menacing, if Alys didn’t know him better, she would be intimidated. The woman sheathed her axe and revealed her pendant. Her pendant was a dull silver dragon in the style of the Imperial Legion. Gears spun in her mind as she noticed that pendent. This trio were likely high-ranking officers in the Legion.</p><p>            “What are your ranks soldiers?” Alys asked them. Can’t be too careful, she thought to herself.</p><p>            “Civilian, I am Legate Storm-Cloud and my comrades are Legate Derickkson and Praefect Aurielius” she said quite confidently.</p><p>            Idelsan’s eyes lit up as he heard them state their names. “I’ve heard of you, Legate Derickkson! You were one of the Helgen survivors that was saved by Jorn, the last Dragonborn! It’s an honor to meet you.”</p><p>            “I am Alys Rivers, and your adoring fan is my little brother, Idelsan Rivers. Our eldest brother, Cyrus, is a legionnaire stationed in Anvil. Needless to say, our family are proud supporters of the Empire, weak as she may be in her current state.”</p><p>            Legate Derickkson, or Hadvar appeared to be flattered that her brother had heard of him. Admittedly, Alys had not kept up with much news from other provinces five years ago. When she was twenty, she was touring the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil and the Heartlands. She had taken great interest in the old Alyied ruins that dotted Cyrodiil. Word of a bloody civil war in Skyrim and dragons rising from their graves were enough to get her to sail back to Wayrest. Fortunately, Alduin’s Uprising was resolved quickly, although the same could not be said for Skyrim’s civil war. Her family was grateful that Cyrus was stationed far away from the conflict at a post in the Imperial City during Skyrim’s civil war. She was certain he was a Praefect by now.</p><p>            “Pleased to make both of your acquaintances” Legate Derickkson responded, nodding his head while wearing an amused smile.</p><p>            “Do you need accommodations? My family would be happy to provide them for you.”</p><p>            Legates Storm-Cloud and Derickkson exchanged glances. The Imperial looked delighted at the prospect of sleeping indoors. Storm-Cloud had a look of hesitation on her face. Wait, they’re probably undercover for a reason.</p><p>            “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone you three are Imperial officers. I’ll tell our stablemaster that you three are body guards from Daggerfall that I’m interviewing for a potential trip to Skyrim” Alys persuaded them.</p><p>            “What do you think Thorn?” Hadvar asked Legate Storm-Cloud. Both he and Praefect Aurelius looked desperate for a night away from the forests of Highrock.</p><p>            “I would rather keep moving, but I suppose we will accept your offer for the night.”</p><p>            Idelsan looked excited at the prospect of spending the night conversing with Imperial legion officers. Alys noticed that Idelsan tended to be a social climber, just like their parents. Oh well, she thought, being a social climber can result in a cushy life. It’s a skill she was never able to pick up on, even when she was regularly attending lectures at various College of Whispers functions.</p><p>            “The walk there will only take about thirty minutes. I can bring some food out to the stable” Idelsan told them assuredly.</p><p>            “Your hospitality is much appreciated” Praefect Aurielius chimed in.</p><p>            There was something off about the woman, but Alys was not going to ask too many questions. She personally doubted that the woman could fight with the short sword, but Alys decided to keep that thought to herself. On the other hand, Storm-Cloud was not somebody she would want to meet in combat. Forsworn were vicious fighters and were practically born wielding weapons and elemental magic. Hadvar seemed way too nice to be a legion officer. In her mind, legion officers were supposed to be harsh figures that use cruel words against their troops when training them for battle. Instead, Hadvar had a kind demeanor and was uh, attractive for someone who was both a Nord and a redhead. Alys was going to keep that thought to herself as well.</p><p>            The sun began to crawl closer to the horizon and the sky became populated with orange and pink hues. Alys was glad they had almost reached the stable, occasionally the forests of Highrock would experience small goblin skirmishes, or worse… After a few minutes, she gestured towards the wooden stable with the ornate woodwork. It had an impressive loft and would provide better shelter than the woods of Shornhelm at night.</p><p>After making sure Stable Master Indarys was aware that several guests would be staying in the loft of the main stable for the night, Alys decided that she should get them some food from the larder. She walked on the worn gravel path between the villa and that stable. Once she reached the villa, she opened the solid oak door.</p><p>            The foyer of the villa was dotted with extra tack racks and the walls were draped with tapestries that featured Wayrest’s sigil of a leaping salmon on a green shield. There was a small mirror by the entrance and Alys peered into it. Her tan skin was covered in specks of dirt from the forest and her curly dark hair was voluptuous from the sticky humidity in the air. She noticed that several of her baby hairs were sticking out, so she moved her hand to sweep them out of the way. In the reflection of the mirror, she saw that her mother was approaching.</p><p>            Sorriyn Rivers was deemed to be one of the best businesswomen in Wayrest and many of the nobles commented on her ‘aging gracefully’ for a woman in her early fifties. She barely had a speck of grey in her light blonde hair and her face was relatively unlined with age. Back in her teenage years, Sorriyn lived in Wayrest with her late parents who toiled away at a farm in the hills.</p><p>            “Mother, you’re done with work early today” Alys commented to her mother. Usually her mother spent a great deal of her time meeting with potential horse buyers and breeders, along with taking care of the financial aspects of the business.</p><p>            “I didn’t have many clients to meet today. We were going to receive a shipment of Haaflingers in today, but I just received word that they’re still in Solitude. Auriel himself only knows what is happening there now. It’s a shame really, apparently they’re quite popular with our kinsmen from Jehenna and Northpoint.”</p><p>            “Are our kinsmen tall enough for those brutish horses? We’re not as tall as those snowbacks.”</p><p>            “Alys, what have I told you about not using slang as vernacular?”</p><p>            “Don’t do it?”</p><p>            “Exactly my dear. Anyways, we got a letter from Cyrus today!” Her mother said excitedly. “You’re going to become an Aunt again by the end of this year.”</p><p>            “That’s amazing!” Alys responded. She was sad that she likely wouldn’t be able to sail to Anvil until after the waterways were mostly free of ice to see the baby.</p><p>            “Anyways, Idelsan told me that your proposal was rejected by The College of Whispers. I’m sorry my dear, have you thought about petitioning Baron Yarwood? He thinks highly of our business and intends to make your father a Duke.”</p><p>            “Ide was telling me about that on our ride up to Sunderhill.” Eager to deflect the subject, she thought about the legionnaires they had found sneaking about in the forest. “By the way Mother, I have a few visitors from Daggerfall—I’m interviewing them for an expedition to some Dwarven ruins among Skyrim’s border. They’re going to be staying in the main stable loft for the night.”</p><p>            “Honey, you know how dangerous Skyrim can be” Sorriyn said with much concern in her voice. “Anyways, why did you even invite them here? You didn’t even get funding for your project.”</p><p>            “I was overconfident about my proposal being accepted. Won’t make that mistake again.” Alys rolled her eyes after saying that. If there is one thing she can harbor, it’s a grudge.</p><p>            “That’s just part of business honey. I’m going to go write a letter to your brother.” Sorriyn walked up the gray stone stairs and looked back at Alys. “Make sure to keep Ide out of trouble with your guests, the last thing I need is Ide thinking about becoming a mercenary” she told Alys before climbing up the rest of the steps to the landing that featured a small writing desk.</p><p>            Idelsan did have a head for business like their parents, but occasionally he would talk about wanting to become an adventurer and explore northern Tamriel before he took over the business. He was somewhat jealous of his older brother, since Cyrus was an officer that had been stationed all over Cyrodiil and Highrock. Alys secretly thought that the main reason that Idelsan wanted to become an adventurer was to win over the ladies. If she had to listen to Idelsan saying he was going to die alone one more time, Alys was going to ship him off to the local arena, the business be damned. Idelsan was only twenty-one and took life too seriously in Alys’ opinion.</p><p>            Alys herself was twenty-five and hadn’t been in any committed relationship in nearly four years. Much to the disappointment of her parents, she almost married one of her former colleagues from the college; the relationship had ended as soon as she learned that her fiancé was a Thalmor agent. How was she supposed to know that some of her kinsmen were Thalmor supporters? At the time she was distraught, but now she found the whole situation rather amusing. Sometimes she thought about what it would have been like to be married; although nowadays she found lecturing and researching to be more fulfilling than any relationship.</p><p>            “Alys, I have some food to bring our guests. I call sitting next to Legate Derickkson.” Idelsan had a tight grasp on the wicker basket that held the apples and cheese for their dinner.</p><p>            “I’m not going to fight you for a spot next to him, believe me Ide.”</p><p>            “Alys, I’m sure he’s rich and wants a sweet housewife that will bake crostatas and herd cattle in Skyrim while he’s away. That’s your type right?”</p><p>            Alys couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Ide, I would sooner burn in oblivion than be doomed to a lifetime of housekeeping in those frozen wastes. Also, who will be here to keep you in line?”</p><p>            “I merely jest, sister.”</p><p>            They opened the door and walked towards the stable. The loft of the stable was quite nice—there were always spare beds in the loft for any visitors or workers that needed a place to sleep. Hadvar, Thorn, and Mauve were setting their camping supplies by their cots.</p><p>            “I brought food for everyone. This basket has bread, apples, and cheddar, my personal favorite cheese” Alys told them as she lifted the white towel off the food in the wicker basket.  All three looked happy to eat something that wasn’t salty dried meat or chewy preserved fruit.</p><p>            “Thank you both for showing us such kindness. We’ve been traveling for close to three weeks now, needless to say we are road-weary” Hadvar thanked them graciously. He snatched a piece of bread and gnawed it away. </p><p>            “You’re welcome Legate Derickkson” Idelsan chimed in. “So…what parts of Tamriel have you guys seen? I’ve only been to Highrock and Hammerfell—I’m slightly jealous that my brother gets to move all over the Empire.”</p><p>            Thorn looked at Hadvar and smirked at his question. “Well, I’ve been to Cyrodiil, Skyrim, Highrock, and Morrowind. Young man, you’re better travelled than Hadvar, this is the first time he has left his motherland.”</p><p>            “I’m from the Cyrodiil and have only been to parts of Skyrim. I think fortune must smile upon your brother if he is able to be stationed in the cities. Most of us tend to be stationed at decrepit forts.” Mauve seemed more relaxed now than when they had met her several hours prior.</p><p>            “You’ve never left Skyrim?! What do you think of Highrock thus far?”</p><p>            “It’s a beautiful country. Definitely not used to the heat though” Hadvar responded.</p><p>            Over the next two hours they chatted amongst each other about a variety of topics. Idelsan was asking him questions about dragons and where he came from. Apparently Hadvar was from a small hamlet near the largest city in Skyrim, Whiterun. Alys was intrigued by Mauve’s vast knowledge about plants and alchemy. Thorn tended to stick to the wall close to the small window that overlooked the road, as if she was on edge.  Alys couldn’t blame her, being in the legion for twenty years would do that to anybody she thought.</p><p>            The stars were starting to glow bright in the sky and Alys decided that it was time for some shut eye. The soldiers were likely getting annoyed with their mundane questions. Idelsan had been summoned away earlier by their father for a business meeting. She walked down the stairs was about to close the stable’s door until she felt a large hand on her shoulder.  She turned around to see Hadvar right behind her, secretly she was impressed that she didn’t hear him right behind her.</p><p>            “Is something wrong Hadvar?”</p><p>            “I’m not supposed to tell you this, so let’s just keep this in between the two of us, all right?” he whispered.</p><p>            Alys nodded in response, and had a curious look on her face.</p><p>            “There’s another war brewing in Skyrim as we speak. Mark my words, it will spread to Highrock soon.”</p><p>            Gears cranked in Alys’ mind as she recalled her mother complaining about the delayed arrival of her Haaflingers from Solitude. If there was a war happening in Skyrim no doubt that would cause the empire to closely monitor the borders. Despite the harsh climate and dangerous fauna, Skyrim used to be one of the most stable provinces of the Septim Empire. The Great War changed Skyrim greatly, even though no battles were fought there. The forsworn had taken over Markarth and were promptly slaughtered by the local Nords and they had an entire civil war over the freedom to worship Talos.</p><p>            “Another civil war?”</p><p>            “If only it were so simple.” He leaned closer to her ear and whispered “We’re being hunted by the Thalmor. Mauve was released by them, but we have proof that they were following us until we had left Jehenna. The new Thalmor ambassador staged a coup in Solitude and executed the Dragonborn. Apparently some fanatics formed their own dragonborn worship cult and the Thalmor took great offense at that. Well, Jorn also killed some of their agents five years back. Collateral damage, I say.  ”</p><p>            “Why would the Thalmor start another conflict? My kinsmen in Hammerfell sent them packing back to Alinor. They lost their main army in Cyrodiil thirty years ago and we all know that the Altmer don’t reproduce fast. Also, many Altmer don’t even support the Aldemeri Dominion.”</p><p>            “We have no idea right now. General Tullius has his suspicions; however, I have no idea what those may be.”</p><p>            “Why are you telling me this?”</p><p>            “You should keep your eyes peeled for agents over the next few days. I sincerely apologize if we have placed your family in any immediate danger.”</p><p>            “Thanks for the warning, I guess. My family is well-regarded in this area, any provocation from any local Thalmor would not end well for any of them. We Bretons may be a divided people, but we don’t tolerate threats from outsiders.”</p><p>            “Well, it’s never a bad thing to have the upper hand in these sorts of situations. Anyways, I bid you a good night Miss Rivers.”</p><p>            Alys’ head was swimming in the information Hadvar had revealed to her. She was likely going to have a sleepless night trying to think of what had emboldened the Thalmor to take over one of the Empire’s most important cities. She found her way back into the villa and climbed up the stairs until she reached the third level of the house. Her room was filled with Masser and Secunda’s light. Thinking of Hadvar’s warning, she decided to lock her door to her deck outside. Shoot, she thought, the letter to Maestro Evanicci had likely blown away, she didn’t remember putting it away.  Oh well, seeking their approval was a waste of time, maybe she would ask some of the local nobles instead. She stripped off her blue leather vest and the white blouse underneath it before laying on top of the down-filled blanket and closed her eyes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>           </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Two</p><p>            Alys’ eyes opened in shock from her nightmare. She sat up in her bed and leaned against the wooden headboard, still hyperventilating. After sitting there for several minutes, she decided to get some water from her basin. The water felt refreshing and comforting; however, she could not bring herself to fall back asleep just yet. Usually she could never remember any dreams or nightmares after she had awoken from them. This dream was different, ever minute detail was clear as a pure diamond in her mind.</p><p>            The lavender curtains had been pulled close and she pushed them open to let in the daylight. It couldn’t have been any later than six or seven, judging by the extent of the sun’s rays. There was a visible morning dew over the pastures as the horses were let loose by the stable master. Goosebumps raised on her skin from the damp morning air and she realized her state of undress. She walked over to her closet and threw on her undergarments, along with a mustard skirt and a white blouse.</p><p>            Thoughts of the nightmare still lingered in her mind while she glanced at one of her spare journals. Maybe writing out this nightmare will help, she thought hopefully. She sat down at her oak desk and grasped her favorite goose feather quill and dunked it in the relatively fresh pot of ink as she opened the journal to an empty page.</p><p>            <em>4E 206 Sixth Day of Sun’s Height</em></p><p>
  <em>            This dream I had last night, it was harrowing. After falling asleep, I felt as if I had been transported to some other plane. I appeared in an old Dwemer ruin, I’m not sure which one though. While I walked around the abandoned hallways, I felt as if there was someone watching my every move. Sure enough, I turned around and noticed a faint glow coming from some alcove behind me. Steam filled the air as sounds of an enormous automaton coming to life reached my ears. I started running further into the ruins and heard steam hissing and automatons making the ground rumble underneath their weight. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I remember seeing sunlight coming from a hallway and darted into it. I gasped as I realized what I was seeing. This was no sunlight I was seeing—I was seeing light from a massive glowing orb in the ceiling (some sort of artificial sunlight construct). This orb lit up the cavern and then I saw them. What I presumed to be Dwemer were going about their daily lives in this underground metropolis. Thinking myself to be safe from the possibly rogue automaton, I started walking down the stairs towards the guard tower. The guard in the heavy dwarven armor saw me and gestured me forward. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Who are you outsider?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “I’m Illiarion” I answered him. I have no clue who “Illiarion” is, that’s just who I was in this dream. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “We’ve been expecting you for a great deal of time” the guard responded. “Come, my master is eager to meet you,.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I followed him through the streets of copper stone and towering buildings. Dwarven architecture is built to last, but it is all harsh angles with little personality. There was a building that towered over the city. It had a glass dome that reached towards the roof of the cavern. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            My breath was taken away as the guard led me through the massive doors. False sunlight made the floor and walls practically glitter and there was a constellation map etched into the floor. I looked forward to see a Dwemer in plain robes sitting on a stone embossed throne. He was holding a long golden staff with a nob at the top. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Come forward Illiarion. I have long been expecting your presence” he said. His voice betrayed his old age, as it had a slight rasp to it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I said nothing and bowed as way to show respect. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “You are the strongest of your kind, yet her you are, not a word to say to me. No matter, for I have plans for you Illiarion.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            The man held up his totem and the giant that I swore I had heard earlier came forward. This centurion was massive and was releasing lots of steam as it stomped towards its creator. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            “Impressive, isn’t it?” the man said as he pulled a tainted soul gem out of his pocket. “Unfortunately, it needs an upgrade. And that is why you are here.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            He held up the totem and aimed it towards me. The centurion shook the ground as it got closer to me. Before I could say anything, the centurion shoved its needle through my stomach and I screamed in agony. Everything faded away within seconds. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I think the summer heat is making me crazy. Despite that, I am interested in finding out if Illiarion was a real person. Also, the curious thing is that I legitimately felt as if I had traveled to a different plane of existence last night. </em>
</p><p>            Several hours had passed while she was writing the journal entry. It was likely noon by now and the heat was starting to get oppressive once more. The soldiers were probably far gone by now, on their way to Daggerfall. She had hoped she would have at least had the chance to bid farewell to them. Hadvar and Mauve were two of the kindest people she had met, quite frankly it was enjoyable meeting people outside of the college and the pompous local nobility.</p><p>            She opened the door and walked down the stairs to get some food. Her mother was sitting at the table with Idelsan and a healthy stack of papers. They both looked up at her as she snatched a piece of bread from the table.</p><p>            “Good morning. By the way, the soldiers left earlier” Idelsan said, looking up from his paperwork.</p><p>            “I’m sorry I’m up so late this morning. I had the strangest dreams last night.”</p><p>“It’s okay my dear” her mother responded. “Ide and I have been working on creating a document for that missing shipment of Haaflingers. When we piece it together, I want you two to go visit the Imperial commerce office so I can at least obtain those damned steeds. Auriel knows we spent enough gold on them.”</p><p>            “I planned on riding to Wayrest today anyways” Alys responded. “I have a lecture tonight anyways.”</p><p>            She put the papers carefully into her worn leather satchel and put on her blue leather vest. Wayrest was likely one of the safest places in Tamriel; but the city was hardly immune from pickpockets and opportunistic kidnappers. Idelsan was strapping his malachite short sword to his belt. The bright green blade had been a gift from Cyrus—he favored traditional long swords in combat and decided that Idelsan should have it for his fifteenth birthday. Surprisingly, Idelsan had yet to tarnish the blade. Alys herself had a longsword that she often kept at her side if her spells ever failed. Fortunately, that had yet to happen. It wasn’t a remarkable blade by any means, it was a standard issue Imperial blade.</p><p>            Both armed and armored, they walked towards the stables that contained Bleu and Brie. Bleu glanced at Alys impatiently as she tightened the straps of the saddle and slid the bridle over his head.</p><p>            “I doubt we will be able to convince the commerce office to do anything” Idelsan commented.</p><p>            “Agreed. I think it’s a waste of time. What isn’t going to be a waste of time will be my lecture tonight. It’s all about safe conjuration spells for beginners” Alys shrugged her shoulders as she responded.</p><p>            “Sounds…ugh interesting, I suppose. While you’re going on about safe spell casting, I think I will get a drink at the Pauper’s Tap.”</p><p>            “Just don’t get into a brawl over some bar wench again. Father was so pissed about that.”</p><p>            Idelsan smiled cheekily and laughed at that memory. “Sometimes it just happens.” He shrugged and urged Brie forward.</p><p>            Bleu trotted forward eagerly. The road today was filled with many farmers and merchants going into Wayrest to sell their goods. Along the roadside there were a number of refugee camps—many of which were filled with refugees from both Hammerfell and Skyrim. Many Bretons had started returning to their homeland after a rise in anti-mer attitudes in both provinces. While Bretons were considerably more mer than man, there were still those who looked down upon the Bretons due to their mer ancestry. Not to mention, both provinces being nearly torn apart by bloody conflicts over the past decade.</p><p>            The oppressive heat of the day was lessened by the breeze coming in from Illiac Bay. Gulls were screeching in the background while trying to leech off of the fisherman’s nets. Tuna and salmon were abundant in this part of the bay. Fishing was the original industry of Wayrest and still is the largest export of Wayrest. Fish mongers had stalls all around the docks and their sales pitches rang throughout the docks. Other merchants had small stalls around the main entrance to the city proper. Despite growing up near the city, Alys always found herself awestruck at the massive walls and sharp purple turrets with countless guards patrolling them.</p><p>            Bleu started to hesitate at the bridge that led into the city and Alys coaxed him slowly over the bridge. His hooves started to clomp on the wood as he begrudgingly trotted across the bridge. Guards bearing the blue sigil of a leaping fish stood at the gate with their long spears in hand, ready to confront any trouble that may arise throughout the day. She took a sip from her water canteen as drips of sweat rolled down her neck. Her and Idelsan both made sure their horses walked slowly through the streets. The Imperial Commerce office was close to the main market plaza.</p><p>            Since Wayrest inside the walls was well over capacity, houses inside the wall came at a premium. Those apartments and manors were narrow and often had at least three stories. Most of the buildings inside the walls were built from the sturdy oak and birch trees that populated the nearby forests. People from all walks of life filled the streets, whether they be beggars, commoners, or self-proclaimed nobles. The streets became narrow as Alys and Idelsan got closer to the commerce office. The building was one of the most ornate buildings in the expansive market plaza. It was a three story stone building dotted with red Imperial flags. There was a hitching post in front of the building and they dismounted the horses and tied them there.</p><p>            Idelsan glanced at Alys and remarked “Here goes nothing sister.”</p><p>            They opened the door to the office. There were shelves full of misshapen files and ledgers dotting several desks with four clerks attending them. At the center of the room, an older Breton man stood at a counter. He noticed both of them and gestured them over.</p><p>            “Hello, my name is Gillberto Cynidir. What can I do for you two today?” He asked with fake enthusiasm evident in his voice.</p><p>            “My name is Idelsan Rivers and I need to inquire about a missing shipment of horses. Our mother, Sorriyn Rivers, made an arrangement with a stable master in Solitude to have twenty horses brought into Jehenna. Unfortunately, the only word we have heard about them is that they’re stuck at the Skyrim border.”</p><p>            Gillberto sighed loudly after listening to Idelsan’s complaint. “Son, I’m afraid that the most I can do is send an official document to the commerce office in Jehenna. See, the border with Skyrim is now closed, by order of the Imperial Legion. Gods only know what is happening in Skyrim right now. Probably the damned locals crying about Talos.”</p><p>            “Oh, ugh…I suppose that will have to suffice” Idelsan responded awkwardly. “Would we be able to just go to the Jehenna office instead? As seeing it is on the border.”</p><p>            “They’ll probably tell you the same thing son, but I won’t complain about not wasting a good courier on that trek. Anything else today?”</p><p>            “No, I guess we will be going to Jehenna tomorrow.”</p><p>            Both disappointed, they walked out of the office and untied the horses. Bleu seemed apprehensive about walking through the crowds again. It was getting close to sundown and Alys needed to go to the conclosure for her lecture. They mounted the horses and trotted out of the chattering and bustling city. The conclosure was on the eastern side of Wayrest’s outskirts. This particular chapter of the College of Whispers had claimed a small cave system as their base of operations in Wayrest—they usually tried to stay clear of the Synod hall in the King’s district of Wayrest.</p><p>            While the horses were matching each other’s trotting pace, Alys looked at her brother. He had a distant look on his face, likely day dreaming.</p><p>            “Are we really going to go to Jehenna for those horses?” she asked him, sounding quite irritated.</p><p>            “I think that’s what mother and father would appreciate. Besides, where’s your sense of adventure Alys?”</p><p>            “Being stuck on a ship with dozens of other people hardly counts as an adventure.”</p><p>            “There’s all sorts of things to sea in the sea. We could get raided by pirates and have to save everyone on board. Or we could maybe spot a dragon!”</p><p>            “Unlike you Ide, I don’t fancy myself a hero” Alys remarked.</p><p>She laughed at the thought of Ide single handedly fighting off scores of fearsome pirates. Their parents hired a former Alik’r swordsman to train both of them, Ide was actually an excellent swordsman, although he was more likely to swindle his way out of a proper duel with words.</p><p>Sunlight was starting to fade as they rode closer to the cave. There was a small hamlet near the cave, the most notable landmark being the Pauper’s Tap—which always drew in a variety of ‘interesting’ characters. Idelsan bid his farewell and rode onto the Pauper’s Tap. Alys reached the hitching post and left Bleu there to drink some water.</p><p>The green eye sigil of the college was all over the numerous drapes that dotted the cave entrance. She went down a bright pathway lit with enchanted orbs. Several associates and apprentices were moving into one of the more spacious parts of the cavern. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Maestro Telvanni, an old Dunmer hailing from one of the main houses of Morrowind. He sported the traditional mage robes of his homeland.</p><p>“Ms. Rivers, are you ready to teach the apprentices about conjuring?”</p><p>“As ready as I can be, I suppose.”</p><p>Alys walked into the room and began her lecture. Two hours passed by relatively fast—even though conjuring was not her favorite thing in the world, she still enjoyed teaching the less experience mages about using caution when learning magic. As she glanced at most of the apprentices in the room, she noticed that there were a few Redguard and Nord apprentices, which happened rarely, due to the negative outlook both respective cultures had on magic. High Rock itself was a magical land in her opinion. Most Bretons had a reverence for both arcane and scientific knowledge.</p><p>As she drew the lecture to a close, a few of the apprentices thanked her and left for their quarters. She remembered that Idelsan was at the Pauper’s Tap and thought about the various ways he likely had gotten himself into trouble. To be honest, she wasn’t sure how he managed to get himself into so much trouble at those kinds of taverns.</p><p>The Pauper’s Tap was buzzing with life—off duty guards, mages from the college, and travelers were the main three groups Alys noticed there tonight. She spotted Idelsan over in the corner, he was talking to…oh, Maestro Evanicci himself, the stingy bastard.</p><p>Idelsan waved her over. “Alys, finally, you have arrived. Your boss and I were just talking about you.”</p><p>“Oh gods, that’s never good” she sighed. “Spit it out.”</p><p>“Young lady, you are a very talented mage and researcher. Don’t take it personally that your proposal was rejected. Also, I will have you know that I was not the one that made the decision. The funding council was in charge of that in Cyrodiil.”</p><p>“Why should they effect anything? In the past they would give anyone funding. For Auriel’s sake, they gave over a thousand septims to that fool Ignacio so he could study magical effects on cheese.” Alys was starting to become annoyed with both Evanicci and the college.</p><p>“Several of the new council members in Cyrodiil have the notion in their blasted heads that we ‘waste too much money’ to that I say pftt!” Evanicci shouted. He started slurring his words as he got angrier.</p><p>“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now Evanicci, apparently I’m Wayrest’s newest duchess, at least according to the Yarwoods.”</p><p>“Ah. I suppose it must be nice having a father that can sweet talk nobility. Tell me, is your father a master of illusion as well? Or is it just your mother?”</p><p>“Our father can’t light a fire with magic to save his life” Idelsan laughed as he said that.</p><p>Judging by the lack of light outside, it was likely getting close to tomorrow. Alys felt anxious to get home so they could catch a ship to Jehenna. They could accompany a trade caravan over land, but those tended to draw attention from brigands that dotted the Dragontail Mountains.</p><p>“It’s a pleasure talking to you Evanicci, but unfortunately my brother and I have to go home.”</p><p>“Fortunately I just have a short walk to the cave. Cheers” Evanicci said as he downed another pint of juniper ale.</p><p>Idelsan and Alys mounted their horses and nudged them into a gallop. Being on the road at night in Wayrest was relatively safe, but occasionally some of the restless wildlife would be brave enough to venture close to the road. After a few hours, Masser and Secunda were gleaming bright in the sky and stars gleamed bright. The air was rather chilly, especially when compared to the sweltering heat of the afternoon. Alys felt relieved when she saw her family’s land, she couldn’t wait to climb into bed after a long day.</p><p>“So, what did the commerce office have to say?” her mother asked her at breakfast the next morning.</p><p>“I think Ide and I are going to take a ship to Jehenna, the commerce officer said we would have better luck there” Alys responded.</p><p>“Alys, promise me that you will both be safe” her mother made her promise. Sorriyn always worried if any of her children ever left the estate. “If they had to close the border with Skyrim, there’s no reason the trouble won’t spill over the border.”</p><p>“Mother, I think we will both be fine in Jehenna” Alys reassured her stressed out Mother.  “Besides, it would do Ide a world of good if he was able to go sight-seeing.”</p><p>“You two really are peas in a pod of trouble” her mother chuckled.</p><p>“I suppose so. We’re going to ride out to the docks early tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“Whatever works darling.”</p><p>“Wake up Ide!” Alys yelled as she knocked on his door.</p><p>“Yeah, give me a second.”</p><p>Idelsan opened the door and had a haggard look on his face. He really was not a morning person, even if waking up early meant that he would get to travel. Ide had donned his trusty leather armor and tan cotton breeches.</p><p>They both put on their packs and walked down the stairs. Faint moonlight dimly lit the house from the windows. Luckily Indarys had woken up early today to help them prepare the horses. Bleu and Brie sounded groggy themselves as they nickered at both of them when they got to their stalls. They saddled them and started off on their way to the docks of Wayrest.</p><p>The sun started to rise as the next few hours passed on the road. At this point, they were getting closer to the docks. The docks were relatively sparse, the only people on the docks mainly being dockworkers or sailors. There were dozens of ships that were docked in Wayrest, all they needed to do is find one that was going to Jehenna. After asking several sailors, Alys managed to find a vessel that was going to set sail around mid-day. Apparently it was going to dock in Daggerfall in two days before sailing on to Jehenna.</p><p>Idelsan handed the ship captain around a hundred septims for their voyage there. The ship captain had introduced himself as Bowen One-Eye, which was odd to them since he seemed to have two perfectly fine eyes. He was a middle aged Nord that hailed from Jehenna anyways. Historically the hold used to be Skyrim’s tenth hold, a fact which had caused much strife between the two provinces in the past.</p><p>She settled into her hammock that was in a small supply room and shut her eyes in a desperate attempt for a nap. When she opened her eyes again, she felt the waves of the sea gently rocking the ship. Ide and her decided to play a few rounds of chess after dinner and played for several hours before heading back to their hammocks</p><p>The next morning, Alys woke up early and climbed the ladder to the top deck. Her breath was taken away by the stunning pink sky and the legendary adamantine tower, which according to some of her colleagues, was the oldest building on Tamriel. This early on in the day, it had a bluish tinge and practically pierced the gray clouds.</p><p>            Alys spent a lot of time over the following few days reading <em>Tamrielic Lore</em>. It was written by the last Dwemer to have existed on Tamriel, Yagrum Bagarn. She couldn’t help but be fascinated with the artificats Bagarn described. Spell Breaker, a shield that could completely deflect magic intrigued her, unfortunately Spell Breaker is lost to time now. Bowen had muttered something about a favorable wind today and reaching Daggerfall this afternoon. Sunlight reflected off of the gentle sea in the evening as they started to dock in Daggerfall.</p><p>            Slightly relieved to be on land again, Alys went to a tavern with Idelsan for a few hours while the crew had procured extra supplies and shipments for Jehenna. When they got back to the ship, Alys noticed that they ship had picked up an extra passenger, looked like another Nord. He turned around and it took Alys a second to place him. Ah that’s who he was.</p><p>            “Hadvar, right?” Alys asked him. Hopefully it was him, otherwise this would be an awkward situation, she thought. He had the same facial scars and the auburn hair.</p><p>“Ah, I thought I recognized you Alys. What on Nirn are you doing here?”</p><p>“Long story short, Ide and I are going to Jehenna on the behalf of our mother to retrieve some Haaflingers from the Skyrim border.”</p><p>Hadvar winced for a second and looked around in a paranoid manner. He leaned down to her ear and whispered “Could we go somewhere more private?”</p><p>            “Yeah, of course.”</p><p>            She waved him into the small room that she claimed as her own for the trip. They both sat on the wood floor on opposite ends of the room.</p><p>            “The border is a dangerous place right now. I don’t doubt that both you and Ide know how to handle yourselves in a fight, but it’s never good to get caught in a conflict bigger than yourself” Hadvar told her with much concern in his voice.</p><p>            “I won’t be going near the actual border, only Jehenna. Hopefully” she shrugged. “Anyways, what did you think of Daggerfall?”</p><p>            “It’s impressive. In general, High Rock is a beautiful place, perhaps not as beautiful as my homeland, but I am a little biased” he laughed.</p><p>            “Are you able to see your family there often? Since you’re stationed there after all?”</p><p>            “When I was stationed in Whiterun and Helgen I was able to visit them more often in Riverwood.”</p><p>            “Your family must miss you quite often. My parents write Cyrus so often that he probably doesn’t even feel the distance.”</p><p>            “Oh they do. Aunt Sigrid was beside herself when I told her and Uncle Alvor I was going to enlist in the legion shortly after I turned seventeen. See, both of my parents were in the Imperial Legion and uh, died before their time unfortunately.”</p><p>            “I’m sorry to hear that, I really am” Alys told him sympathetically. She couldn’t imagine losing either of her parents, especially at such a young age. He had mentioned that he enrolled when he was seventeen, now she wondered how old he was.</p><p>            “It’s all right, to be honest, I don’t remember them. I guess I was a surprise to my parents” he chuckled. “At this point, I’m older than either of them got to be.”</p><p>            “How old are you? I’m twenty-five.”</p><p>            “You’re not going to believe me, but I am only twenty-three.”</p><p>            Alys was a little surprised that he was younger than her. That means he was only eighteen when he had survived a dragon razing a town to the ground. “Don’t worry, I believe you” she reassured him. Hadvar was proof that war waged a physical toll on soldiers. He had a particularly unique career, he had managed to survive both dragons and a tumultuous civil war.</p><p>            They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Hadvar broke the silence. “I noticed behind you that you’re reading <em>Tamrielic Lore.</em> I read that last winter when I was stationed in Morthal. There’s not much to do at a fort in the middle of a frozen marsh. Especially one that may or may not have had a vampire infestation.”</p><p>            “I just finished reading today. I would love to get my hands on Spell Breaker.”</p><p>            “Makes sense for you. I think I would want Chrysamere, having a blade like that would be handy right now.”</p><p>            “I suppose so” she laughed nervously. “If you weren’t in the legion what would you be doing?”</p><p>            “Throwing a curveball at me there” he grinned. “This is going to sound a little cliché, but I think I would be an adventurer. Technically, my position as Legate has led me on so many different adventures, though none of them were my choice.”</p><p>            “That does make sense though. I guess I’m like that too. I spent my late teen years traveling all over western Tamriel and absolutely loved it. Well, most of it anyways.”</p><p>            “What didn’t you like?”</p><p>            “My ex-fiancé” she said light-heartedly.</p><p>            Hadvar laughed at that and looked at her sheepishly. “I’m sorry for laughing at that, it’s just the way you said it.”</p><p>            “It’s okay, I laugh about it too now. What can I say? I was a foolish teen and he was a Thalmor agent.”</p><p>            “Was he a--?”</p><p>            “No, he was a Breton.”</p><p>            “Well, that does sound like his loss and not yours.”</p><p>            Alys had been thinking a lot about her ex-fiance lately. She wondered if he was assigned to spy on her family since they were supporters of the legion. Lost in her dark thoughts, she hadn’t noticed that Hadvar was now sitting next to her on the damp wood.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Three</p><p>            “What are you doing?” Alys asked Hadvar. Sure, she was enjoying their conversation, but she did like to have some personal space.</p><p>            “Someone’s been listening outside your door.”</p><p>            “I doubt it—if anyone is out there, it is probably Ide. I’ll go check.”</p><p>            Alys peaked her head outside of the door and glanced down the claustrophobic hallways of the ship. If there was anyone there, they were long gone by now.</p><p>            “Hadvar, nobody was out there. Most of the people on this ship think that you are just a simple traveler trying to get back home to Skyrim” Alys attempted to reassure him.</p><p>            “I apologize, old habits die hard. Honestly, I’m not used to being in calm civilian areas. Years of having to live in decrepit forts and frozen camps have made me unable to adjust to anything, well normal.” His voice carried a lot of melancholy. “Anyhow, I’m going to head up to the top deck” he said as he got up off the floor and left the room.</p><p>            If Alys was being honest with herself, she had to admit that she found Hadvar to be inexplicably attractive. “I don’t get it, Nords aren’t usually my type” she found herself mumbling. She personally didn’t have problems with Nords themselves, just the ‘Skyrim is for the Nords” types that supported Ulfric Stormcloak’s rebellion that cost thousands of lives all across northern Cyrodiil and Skyrim. Not to mention that both Dunmer and Argonians were forced into slums in some cities. Alys had also heard from a few Khajjit merchants that they were not even allowed inside most cities, which she felt was horribly prejudiced. If Hadvar was prejudiced against any of the other races in Tamriel, it was hard to tell.</p><p>            Admittedly, she was curious about the civil war, all she had heard over the year were just the starting and ending events of the war. Entire towns were razed to the ground during the war and the Stormcloak often used guerrilla tactics in the forests that dotted southern Skyrim. She wanted to ask Hadvar about it, but figured that he would not be willing to discuss anything that had happened. Especially not any questions about The Battle of Red Yorgrim, which was the last battle of the civil war. Town criers had claimed that the Legion had barely managed to quell the rebellion and that battle left behind massive body piles from both sides.</p><p>            Knocking on the door grabbed her attention. “Come in.”</p><p>            Idelsan came into the room. He looked frazzled from this voyage, Alys forgot that he tended to get sea sickness. “Are you okay?”</p><p>            “Um, yes I’m fine, why?”</p><p>            “One of the sailors told me that a man was in your room.”</p><p>            “You worry wart, it was just Hadvar.”</p><p>            “Because gods forbid I worry about you sister” Idelsan said in an irritated tone and rolled his eyes at her. “Also, I think the captain said the seas are going to be rough tonight, not sure how they know, but keep that in mind.”</p><p>            “Oh great”</p><p>            “We’ll be okay, the sea of ghosts is known to be choppy. Also, why were you talking to Hadvar in this broom closet the captain lets you sleep in?” Idelsan asked suspiciously.</p><p>            Alys shrugged. “We were just talking and Hadvar is a tad paranoid, so he asked me if we wanted to go to somewhere more private.”</p><p>            “Phew, that’s not where I thought this conversation was going to go for a second” Idelsan remarked and laughed. However, he still had an awkward look on his face.</p><p>            “Idelsan Baurus Rivers! How dare you?” she raised her voice in jest and lightly punched his arm. “I’m not a dragon snatcher.”</p><p>            “A what?” Idelsan asked while loudly laughing. Whenever he laughed, he practically cackled. He looked confused.</p><p>            “Dragon snatcher. In Cyrodiil, it’s slang for women that only date soldiers” Alys deadpanned.</p><p>            “Well, I suppose every day you learn something new. Anyways, I’m going to go to the mess deck, want to come with?”</p><p>            “Sure. It better not be tack biscuits and salted sardines again though. If it is, I’m going to start catching fish by hand” Alys said in as serious of a tone as she could pull off. Ide scoffed at that, since he knew that she was terrified of swimming this far out from shore.</p><p>            They both climbed the ladder that led to the cramped dining room by the captain’s room. The captain was divvying up portions for everyone on board. The food was never particularly great—most of it was some form of dried food. It looked like tonight’s dinner was venison jerky, a tiny orange, and a bowl of rice porridge. Alys was relieved that she didn’t have to chew on another tack biscuit tonight—it was hard as rocks and she swore she nearly cracked a tooth on that damned biscuit.</p><p>            Idelsan asked the captain if it was safe to go to the top deck for dinner, which according to the captain was perfectly safe, as long as they both went below deck if the wind picked up. They took their rather small portions up the stairs that led to the top deck and went to the sturdy bench. The air felt rather cool for such a warm summer day, Alys figured that was from the incoming storm. <em>I’m nervous about this storm, the Sea of Ghosts is known to have the fiercest storms</em> she thought to herself.</p><p>            She spooned the grainy rice porridge into her mouth, it wasn’t half bad, she admitted to herself. It tasted of cinnamon and honey, guess the captain was feeling kind-hearted tonight. Ide looked slightly disappointed as he bit into the measly orange. Ide already hated being on a ship and Alys doubted the subpar food was changing his mind.</p><p>            Wind started to whistle through the ship as the waves started rocking the ship more. The sturdy canvas masts were proudly aloft in the strong wind. Last Alys had heard, they were close to Northpoint shore, which was one of the larger cities of Northern High Rock.</p><p>            “Are you ready to go below deck Ide?” Alys asked, knowing that Ide was likely starting to feel more uncomfortable with the choppier waves.</p><p>            “Um, yeah, I feel a little sick” Idelsan responded. “Hey, do you hear that?”</p><p>            Over by the main mast, she could hear shouting between several of the sailors. Sounds of the waves hitting the ship masked their voices and she was unable to distinguish what they were saying. Without thinking, Idelsan got out of his seat and peered over the railing towards the south. Alys was surprised that he had worked up enough courage to get so close to the railing.</p><p>            Panting heavily, he had a worried look on his face. “Alys, you have to see this.”</p><p>            She ran over to where he was. The wind was becoming so strong that she could feel the salt from the waves hitting her face. Idelsan pointed towards a fleet of ships that were sailing the same direction as them. The masts of a few of the leading ships were becoming clear to her. <em>No, no, this cannot be happening. Maybe they’ll ignore us because we are a simple cargo ship. </em>The navy sails flailing in the wind bore the golden eye of the Thalmor. Captain One-Eye must have ordered his crew to raise the torn white flag they kept in case of pirates…or worse apparently. Two of the ships were heading towards them, the strong wind propelling them along at a fast pace.</p><p>            One of the sailors, Tom, Alys remembered, ordered them to get below deck with the other passenger, Hadvar. Without realizing it, Alys was hyperventilating in fear of what the Thalmor could do to them. They were known to excel at making their victims vanish. Idelsan looked shaken as well, but she could tell he was trying hard to keep himself at ease.</p><p>            “You two!” Hadvar yelled at them. “Get your armor on and Ide, better get that sword of yours” he ordered them. “This could get ugly really fast” he yelled. Hadvar had thrown on his traveling leathers that were devoid of any Imperial Legion symbols. His sword was strapped to his belt. Hadvar was right behind them, his presence was starting to stress her out even more. He seemed to have been snapped into his military persona.</p><p>            <em>Time to try and calm myself,</em> Alys thought. Her hand was moving shakily as her hand emitted a faint greenish glow that managed to get her heart rate down. She couldn’t help but continue to breathe heavily as she strapped on her leather armor and adjusted her helm. Just in case magic failed her, she tied her sword sheath to her belt. Hastily, she decided to shove the few belongings she had brought with her into her leather pack and threw on the pack.</p><p>            Suddenly, the floor started to rock violently from the waves. She would have knocked her head on the floor if it wasn’t for Idelsan’s quick reflexes. She looked at her door way and saw Hadvar holding tightly onto the door frame in an effort to keep himself steady.</p><p>            “I’m impressed, I really could make soldiers out of you two” he said with a forced smile. His attempt at lightning the mood would have been successful if it wasn’t for the loud explosion on the top deck.</p><p>            They could hear screams and explosions on the top deck. Clearly the Thalmor didn’t want word of their fleet spreading. Alys assumed they were heading to Solitude to continue their takeover of the city and formally challenge General Tullius. Hadvar started to look panicked as well and gestured them towards the door that led to the emergency canoe.</p><p>            A loud snap led to the main mast breaking through the ceiling of where they were at. Hadvar had jerked her forward just in time to have missed the mast.<em> Damn it all, this ship is going to be the death of me, </em>she thought frantically. Idelsan had managed to untie the canoe and looked uneasy as he tried to hold it steady for Hadvar and Alys to get in quickly. The wind grew louder as the stormy waves thundered against the ship and both fire and lightening lit up the night sky.</p><p>            Another explosion rocked the ship as Hadvar and Alys attempted to leap into the canoe. The canoe was having a hard time keeping steady with the storm and the force of Hadvar leaping in nearly tipped it over. Alys did not have the good fortune of landing in the canoe. The cold sea water shocked her. Lightning lit up the sky every few seconds as loud booming erupted from both fireballs and the deafening thunder.</p><p>            She struggled to stay afloat in the freezing water. <em>Come on Alys, you can do this</em>, she thought as she remained determined to stay above the onslaught of bone chilling waves. She vaguely heard the voices of Ide and Hadvar. At this point all of the sounds were blending together in her mind. Her body shivered from the water as she swam closer to the drifting canoe. It felt like an eternity before she felt a hand grasp her.</p><p>            “Try to stay steady! I’ll get you out of there” Hadvar said with much determination.</p><p>            He managed to pull her onto the canoe, to which Idelsan let out a breath of relief. She started hacking up water and her body was convulsing from the cool wind.</p><p>            “Fuck, do you know any healing spells?! She’s going to die!” Idelsan screamed frantically.</p><p>            “Pay attention to the sea Ide! We’re close to Northpoint, we should be able to reach land soon! I’ll try to keep her conscious. You have my word.”</p><p>            Hadvar tried to concentrate hard enough to summon a healing spell that he used to use more often. He held his hands near Alys’ chest in an effort to get her core body temperature up and at least ease some of the damage from ingesting sea water. The gentle chimes of the healing spell rang out as it started to ease out of Hadvar’s hand. Her body started to stop convulsing from the chill of the air and her mouth started moving. What she was saying was inaudible to both Idelsan and Hadvar, but all they cared about was that she was alive.</p><p>            Now the challenge was keeping her warm as they got closer to the shore. Driftwood from the ship kept them company as the shore was within sight. Mountains loomed over the coastline and fog drifted off of them. A small lighthouse was the only light visible in the stormy sky. Alys used all of her might to keep her eyes open, but alas the world was starting to fade to black…</p><p>            “Damn Thalmor bastards, I don’t think anyone else survived” Idelsan speculated. He had a haggard look on his face from the events of the previous night. His formerly pristine traveling clothes were torn and still soggy.</p><p>            They were in a room in a small tavern by the shipping dock for Northpoint. Miraculously, they were able to get Alys into a shelter not too long after she had passed out. Her body temperature seemed to be a little low, but they were both hoping it would increase by the time she woke up.</p><p>            “I don’t know what’s made them so bold. Sure, they kidnap Talos worshippers constantly, but there’s no possible way that they have an army amassed large enough to challenge the empire once more” Hadvar commented. He ran his fingers through his hair anxiously as he talked. He was wearing a linen shirt and brown pants that he had borrowed from the innkeeper, who seemed happy to help a fellow Nord.</p><p>            Candle light greeted Alys as she opened her eyes and stretched her arms. “Gods, I feel like shit.”</p><p>            “Look like it too” Idelsan commented with a smirk.</p><p>            “Always a supportive brother” Alys responded with much apparent sarcasm. She turned to Hadvar, who looked relieved. “Thank you for pulling me out of the water, I was struggling to stay afloat in it.”</p><p>            “You’re welcome Ma’am” he responded back, while taking a seat in the rickety willow chair.</p><p>            “I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to try some good old fashioned Nordic mead. I heard that they have Honningbrew mead!” Idelsan said excitedly.</p><p>            “Pftt, that mead is trash compared to the Black-Briar reserve, although the Black-Briars themselves are a horrid family. Don’t mention that I said that, otherwise you might find me in a canal next time I’m in Riften” Hadvar speculated.</p><p>            Alys wrinkled her nose at the thought of mead. She loved honey, but she despised the smell of mead. Whenever her parents would uncork a bottle, it always smelled rancid to her, but according to them it was delicious.</p><p>            “Not a fan of mead?” Hadvar asked light-heartedly. He looked rather amused.</p><p>            “Ugh, no. I can’t get over the smell of decaying honey.”</p><p>            “I suppose everyone has a character flaw” Hadvar teased. </p><p>            Idelsan closed the door and went off to the main dining hall. Judging by the boisterous shouts and laughter from the inn’s other patrons, Alys assumed that it was around sunset. A nervous pit formed in her stomach when she realized that Hadvar didn’t leave with Idelsan. Even though she had been single for over five years now, she still felt apprehensive around men her age.</p><p>            “So, are you heading back to Solitude tomorrow?” Alys asked Hadvar. She was trying to fill the awkward silence between them.</p><p>            “I miss Skyrim quite a bit, but right now it looks like I’m going to be stationed in Jehenna. That’s okay, I suppose; I’ll have more stories to tell my non-existent grandchildren.”</p><p>            “You’ve had a far more exciting life than most have, that’s for sure.”</p><p>            “By Akatosh, tell me about it” Hadvar laughed darkly. “Every time I get posted somewhere, there just happens to be some kind of calamity that arises. First time getting a border posting, I get nearly incinerated by a dragon. Then I spent the next few years having to scout around Stormcloak territory. I don’t even need to tell you about how that went south frequently” he told her while not wavering in eye contact.   </p><p>            “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get promoted so fast?”</p><p>            “My first promotion was after Helgen, I think they were surprised that I both survived and still wanted to serve in the legion. Keep in mind that I was barely eighteen when Helgen was destroyed. Any promotion after that mainly came from my good fortune of being the small unit assigned to Jorn” he grimaced after saying the late dragonborn’s name.  “I miss that man, he was a little odd, as was his wife, but we all owe him an immeasurable amount of debt. I’m sorry, I keep on rambling.”</p><p>            “No, it’s okay. I’d imagine it gets lonely in the legion sometimes. I can relate to that with the College of Whispers to an extent—I had a falling out with some of my other colleagues there.”</p><p>            “Being an officer is a different type of loneliness. My soldiers see me as an authority figure, someone who tries to keep morale up. They’re not going to be inspired by an officer that is haunted by the things they’ve seen in service of the legion. Plus, fraternization rules.” He said the last sentence noticeably quieter.</p><p>            “That make sense. I guess I can see why Cyrus rarely talks about his position in the legion. It’s been too long since I have seen him. I miss my nieces and nephews too. He’s the only one of us that really has his shit together” she admitted.</p><p>            “I don’t know about that, not just anyone can become a renowned researcher and lecturer for the College of Whispers” he said, with a kind smile. “In Skyrim, we just have the College of Winterhold, so unfortunately, I know little about your college. But, I do know that it takes years to comprehend most magical spells, let alone defend yourself with them. For what it’s worth, I’m impressed with your knowledge of the arcane” he shrugged after complimenting her. His eyes practically lit up while they were talking.</p><p>            Butterflies in her stomach started to flutter whenever he complimented her. <em>I can’t help but feel attracted to that smile. He’s so easy to talk to as well, I feel like I can talk to him about anything. Okay, I have a bit of a weakness for redheads too.</em> Her inner monologue was soon interrupted by him clearing his throat.</p><p>            “Are you all right? You seem a little spaced out.”</p><p>            “Yeah” she laughed. “Sorry, I tend to get wrapped up in my thoughts mid-conversation. I’m basically paid to just sit and think up ideas, so it can be hard for me to follow conversations sometimes.”</p><p>            Hadvar arched his eyebrow and got out of his chair to sit at the end of her bed. “Is it okay if I sit here?”</p><p>            “Yes, that’s all right” she said while blushing. <em>I feel like an idiot around him. I’m twenty-five and can end a man with a fireball from twenty feet away, yet emotional intimacy overwhelms me</em>, she thought while becoming frustrated with herself.</p><p>            Hadvar was running his hand over the sabre cat pelt that was keeping her warm. “What are you thinking about?” he asked innocently.</p><p>            She nervously laughed at his question. <em>Okay, let’s just say I find him attractive and move on from that. I’ll probably never see him again after we leave this part of High Rock anyways. What do I have to lose? </em>She took a deep breath before answering his question. “I enjoy your company and I…will miss you once I have to go back to Wayrest.”</p><p>            “For someone as forthcoming as you are, I think you’re not saying something” Hadvar speculated as he tapped his fingers on the down-filled bed.  He smirked while looking at her with his hazel eyes.</p><p>            <em>Should have known better than to try to omit something from someone who’s trained to read people.</em> “I uh think you’re quite attractive. Which sounds crazy, I know, we’ve only known each other for like a week.”</p><p>            “Why are you worried about that?” he teased. “We could have died last night, hell, you almost did. One thing I have learned from being a soldier is that every night could be your last, for every day brings new threats. I stopped being afraid of holding back after the Battle of Red Yorgrim. When I die, I want to die knowing that I lived my life to the fullest.”</p><p>            “I understand that, but I tend to be more hesitant because of my past relationships going sour with time. By the way, I’m not suggesting a relationship or anything, I just wanted you to know how I feel.”</p><p>            “I appreciate your honesty, Miss Alys” he responded as he stared at the floor for a few seconds. “Truth is, I think you’re beautiful and I would regret not telling you that."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Four</p><p>            Northpoint was a rather grim city, at least by High Rock standards. Most cities of High Rock were famed for their both their ornate stonework and delicate wood embellishment; instead Northpoint was composed of ramshackle wooden buildings that stretched several stories high. Rickety wooden walkways connected the multiple levels of the city as its residents went about their daily lives. The growing season along the Sea of Ghosts is far too short for most crops, which means that the sea is what sustains Northpoint. The cold waters provide excellent fish and the towering pines on the shoreline are some of the best timber in High Rock.</p><p>            While Alys walked down the stairs from the inn with both Idelsan and Hadvar in tow, she noticed that Northpoint had a distinct stench. Smells of fish and mildew filled her nose; which caused her to subconsciously wrinkle her nose in disgust. Wayrest had plenty of fishmongers as well, but she did not recall Wayrest smelling as bad as this place. Northpoint was in obvious disrepair; some claimed that it was intentional—cities in Skyrim were laid out similarly to Northpoint. Alys personally doubted that, she had seen paintings and heard stories of Skyrim’s larger cities. Many of them had managed to last through several eras and had outlived their previous denizens; which meant that they were well-constructed in the past.</p><p>            “Some people say Northpoint is just like a Skyrim city, is that true?” Idelsan asked Hadvar. He was still hungover from drinking too much mead at the inn last night.</p><p>            “Pft, I’m sure anyone who says that has never been to Skyrim. This city can’t even hold a candle to any of the cities back home” Hadvar answered dismissively.</p><p>            They all descended down the stairs in a comfortable silence after that. Clouds obscured the sun in the sky, but the air was starting to feel warm, much to Alys’ relief. She much preferred the warm breeze that blew off of Illiac Bay. Jehenna was going to be much colder than Northpoint and Alys was trying to prepare herself to handle that kind of unseasonal cold. During their morning walk through the city purchasing supplies, Alys caught Hadvar glancing at her several times, he apparently thought he was being inconspicuous.</p><p>            “Can you two cut it out?” Idelsan asked with much annoyance in his voice.</p><p>            “Cut what out?” Alys shot back with a glare.</p><p>            “That awkward competition of misplaced glances. I don’t want to know what happened between you two, but please make it less uncomfortable for me.”</p><p>            “Ide, it’s not what you think…”</p><p>            Hadvar cleared his throat before he added anything to the conversation. “There’s nothing for you to worry about here.”</p><p>            “Usually that means there’s something wrong. Oh well, I’ll go out on a limb and trust you Hadvar” Idelsan responded. “Anyways, what route are we going on to reach Jehenna?”</p><p>            “We should follow the pass through the mountains that most merchant caravans use. It should be relatively safe, as long as we don’t veer far off the road” Alys suggested. “Basically, all we have to do is stay relatively close to the coastline.”</p><p>            “Good idea” Hadvar said in agreement. He had bought a different set of armor this morning, this set was made out of sturdy steel plates and leather. Apparently his set of officer armor had been lost when the ship had sunk.</p><p>            As they walked through the mountain pass several hours later, Alys felt her breath being taken away by the raw beauty of the mountain range. Proud white pines rustled in the chilly mountain wind and pure mountain water flowed down small streams near the road. The mountains were so tall that she felt as if they were swallowing her whole. Idelsan, who admittedly didn’t have as much of an appreciation for nature, was awestruck at the sights alongside the road. Rumor had it that nymphs and wisp mothers called this region home, Alys swore that she had seen a little nymph spying on them as they walked east.</p><p>            Alys was glad that she had purchased warmer clothing than what she was wearing aboard the ship. Gone were her breezy cotton shirts and pants; instead she had purchase tan linen pants and a gray wool shirt that felt slightly scratchy against her skin. Her beloved blue leather vest was tattered, but she couldn’t be bothered to care about that until she found a decent leather smith. Her hair was starting to get frizzy from all of the sea air, she was thinking about braiding it once they set up camp for the night.</p><p>            On the road ahead, they all noticed an Orc wearing haphazard fur armor that left most of his chest bare to the world. He held up his right hand when they got closer to him.</p><p>            “Halt! This is a toll road. The fee today is fifty septims, by order of the King!” the Orc demanded.</p><p>            “I’ll be damned if I’m paying for a toll fee, Gods know I pay enough in taxes as is” Idelsan boldly stated.</p><p>            “Turn back now or I will use force” the Orc threatened. Noticing that nobody was turning around, he unsheathed his impressive war hammer. “All right, I have got three heroes here, let’s show them who really owns High Rock!”</p><p>            Four more orcs emerged out of the forest, with their weapons unsheathed and ready to strike. Without thinking twice, Alys focused on summoning a flame atronoch to aid them in battle. A loud pop nearly deafened her ears as the flame atronoch successfully entered the mortal plane. Hadvar exchanged blows with the largest orc of the pack and managed to slice the neck of the orc open. The orc with the war hammer nearly caught Hadvar off guard and could have smashed him to bits if it wasn’t for Idelsan sneaking up behind him and stabbing his blade through the heart of the orc. All of the races of Tamriel were quite diverse, however their common trait was that all of the blood coursing through their bodies ran red. Both Hadvar and Idelsan were coated in blood.</p><p> Alys aimed a fireball towards another one of the orcs that had decided not to retreat like his two still living comrades. All the fireball managed to do was singe the orc’s sturdy armor.</p><p>“To fucking oblivion with you three!” the orc screamed as he charged forward towards Alys.</p><p>            She closed her eyes and thought of the spell that created a frost wall. Sure enough, frost and ice shot out of her hands to create a barrier that would hinder the orc from bashing her with his mace. Out of desperation, Hadvar aimed his steel sword for the unarmored gap of the orcs back to try and immobilize him. A sickly crack broke the air as the sharp tip of the sword broke the orc’s back and forced him to clutch the ground. The orc drew a few shaky breaths before Hadvar put his foot on the orc’s back armor plate and yanked his sword out of the orc’s back. Alys barely blinked and suddenly she saw the orc’s head roll off of his body. She had defended herself before against those who would wish her harm, but she had never done anything as brutal as Hadvar had done just now.</p><p>            A surge of guilt passed over Hadvar’s face as he sat down on a small boulder near the road and ran his cleaning rag over the blood-soaked blade. Idelsan was using a rag to try and get the blood smears off of his face and leather cuirass. Alys had soot on her face from using fireballs, no matter how well she became at wielding them, she swore they always managed to singe her slightly. Oh well, she thought, at least it’ll keep me warm.</p><p>            “It never gets easier” Hadvar said quietly while keeping his eyes on the now blood soaked rag on his blade. “They say it gets easier the more often you kill someone, but I think that’s nothing but hogwash.”</p><p>            “It was a kill or be killed situation. There’s no point in guilt tripping yourself over preserving your life” Alys stated as she sat on the boulder next to him. “Most of the orcs in High Rock are on good terms with the other kingdoms, but there are fringe groups of hardcore Malacath worshippers that are hostile towards travelers, especially Bretons.” Alys put a hand on his shoulder. “Think about it this way, by killing them, you may have saved someone else’s life in the future.”</p><p>            “Fair enough, forget I said anything” Hadvar responded with a surprisingly short temper. He put the cleaning cloth back into his pack and sheathed his sword. “I know it’s starting to get dark out, but can we camp further up the road? The last thing I need is to smell the stench of decay” Hadvar requested.</p><p>            “For the record, I’m with Hadvar there, death smells awful” Idelsan chimed in. Alys was not sure how Idelsan managed to handle such brutality better than Hadvar, especially considering that Idelsan had a significantly more posh upbringing than Hadvar.</p><p>            “Let’s camp by that waterfall up there, I really want to get the blood and soot off of my face” Alys suggested.</p><p>            Moonlight from Masser and Secunda was rather dim upon the encampment that they were setting up for the night. A damp fog started to roll in from the nearby sea and it carried a damp chill that caused Alys to shiver. Hadvar and Idelsan worked on setting up the cowhide leather tents while Alys worked on starting a small fire. The kindling she had found in the tree grove were starting to spark.</p><p>            Exhausted from both killing bandits and hiking through the mountains, Alys sat down by the growing fire and pulled out a piece of venison jerky and dried berries. She was so tired that the dancing flames practically put her in a trance. Despite that, she tried to stay awake for a few minutes longer so she could fill out her new journal; her mind was always cooking up new research ideas. After her nightmare last week, she just couldn’t get the dwarven centurion out of her mind. Also, who was Illarion? Next time she was able to spend more time in Daggerfall, she intended on visiting the Emperor’s Library there to possibly find some answers.</p><p>            Instead of writing in the journal, she absent-mindedly started sketching the centurion from her dream. That one was different from the centurion specimen that she had seen at a small Dwarven museum in Hammerfell. This centurion was enormous and a different shade of bronze, plus those eyes had a haunting blue glow. At that moment, she wished that she had some watercolor pigment sticks to help bring the drawing to life.</p><p>            “Boy, I hope I never have to see that in battle” Hadvar said as he sat down next to her after he had finished putting up the tents.</p><p>            “I hope I don’t either” she responded quietly. “I’m just sketching a centurion I saw in a nightmare I had last week.”</p><p>            “Oh, that’s rather spooky. I’ve never actually seen one in person—not many people live to tell the tale of exploring Dwemer ruins. The only ruin that is completely safe is the ruin underneath the city of Markarth as far as I know. Most ruins manage to drive people insane; Jorn once told me of a mage from the College of Winterhold that was driven to madness by a Dwarven storage device.”</p><p>            “They only drive you insane if you don’t understand their technology” Alys responded, not looking up from the flames.</p><p>            “Do you understand their technology then?” Hadvar asked curiously, although Alys felt as if he was subtly trying to convince her that studying Dwemer is a fool’s errand.</p><p>            “Not really, but that’s why I was trying to hire assistants that could help me with understanding Dwemer mechanisms. But of course, I was denied funding and now with a war brewing between the empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, nobody will invest in non-essential research.” Alys realized that Hadvar likely thought she was nothing more than an attractive, yet highly privileged woman from one of the wealthiest regions of the Empire. Here she was, a wealthy person complaining about not having more money for a foolish venture, while Hadvar had watched one of his closest friends get executed by the Thalmor.</p><p>            “I don’t think learning how to construct fearsome Dwemer machines is a waste of time; although there are so many implications behind the construction of those machines. I’m no scholar, but even I have heard that they run on powerful soul gems—souls that had likely belonged to the Falmer before they were betrayed. Even the most evil of us don’t deserve to be sent to the soul cairn until the end of time” Hadvar said firmly.</p><p>            “I suppose I never thought about soul trapping in that manner before. At the college, most of my colleagues never soul trapped anything beyond a feral bear or a wisp mother, but I have heard of violent prisoners being soul trapped for…experiments outside of college grounds of course.”</p><p>            Idelsan joined them by the fire and he bit a chunk of the chewy jerky. “Rather grim philosophical conversation we have going on here.”</p><p>            Alys rolled her eyes in annoyance at her brother. “In case you haven’t noticed, the world is a grim place” she responded, sounding more condescending than what she had intended.</p><p>            Hadvar smiled at them arguing. “Seeing you two bicker reminds me of my cousin Dorthe and I when we were younger” he reminisced. “Dorthe still pesters me for stories whenever I’m able to visit Riverwood, she’s almost seventeen now.”</p><p>            “When is the last time you saw her Hadvar?” Idelsan asked.</p><p>            “Oh, it’s probably been close to six months now; I’ve been stuck in Solitude for most of this year. It’s not a bad posting, but even I find the Sea of Ghosts to be too chilly” Hadvar answered.</p><p>            A chill settled in the air as the only light in the sky came from the moons and stars of mundus. Alys settled into her bedroll as Hadvar and Idelsan continued to talk in hushed whispers so they wouldn’t keep her up.</p><p>She assumed several hours had passed when she opened her eyes next. The fire outside was now nothing more than smoldering embers. As she rose out of her bedroll, she grabbed her hair tie and looped it around her head to keep her curls out of her face. Funny, Hadvar was supposed to wake her up for third watch, she thought. She knelt down as she pushed the leather flaps of the tent completely open. Sure enough, Hadvar was still up, somehow he managed to look alert enough.</p><p>He looked up at her as she crawled out of her tent. “Good morning I suppose. To be honest, I just woke up too. I thought I saw wolves when I woke up earlier, but they seem to have skirted around us.”</p><p>“By Auriel, it’s a good thing nobody was trailing us” she said, sounding irritated.</p><p>“Well, I’m sure they would be if the Thalmor knew people had survived that shipwreck.”</p><p>Hadvar stood up and started to pack up his tent in silence. He managed to tug the hardy stakes out of the ground almost effortlessly. After hastily shoving his few belongings into his pack, he started to strap on his steel armor. Alys noticed that he kept on glancing at her as if there was something he wanted to say.</p><p>“Khajjit have your tongue Hadvar?” Alys asked quietly. “You’re not one to suddenly stop speaking your mind.”</p><p>Hadvar smirked at her with a devilish smile. “I don’t know what you mean Miss Alys Rivers” he responded coyly. He crossed his arms and pretended to act oblivious. After noticing that Idelsan was still sleeping, he gestured her forward.</p><p>She took a few steps forward until he suddenly wrapped his muscled arms around her waist. “Just wanted to tell you that you look stunning this morning” he leaned in and whispered into her ear. He unwrapped his arms from her waist and looked surprised that she had stayed in the same spot.</p><p>“I’m going to miss you when we reach Jehenna” Alys commented sadly. It’s not too often that she finds a man or mer that truly catches her fancy after all, she thought.</p><p>“As long as I don’t get electrocuted by a xenophobic Thalmor agent, I should survive this conflict. The nine divines have decided that if there’s a historical even happening, good ole Hadvar will be the one to live to tell the gruesome tale” Hadvar stated sarcastically at first but then sounded bitterer as he mentioned previous conflicts. “Anyways, I can’t believe you lied to your brother yesterday” he chuckled.</p><p>She scoffed at that comment. “What on Nirn are you talking about?”</p><p>“It’s not what you think Ide” he responded, trying to imitate her accent. “In reality, it is what he thought it was.”</p><p>“I changed my mind, I’m not going to miss you after Jehenna” she retorted.</p><p>She was nearly done with packing away her tent as Idelsan finally woke up. The air was damp and the sky was still grey, she hoped that it wasn’t going to rain all day. It was already chilly on the road and more damp air would make this trek completely insufferable in her opinion.</p><p>Unfortunately, it started raining around mid-day and the damp air chilled her to the bone. According to the signpost on the road, there was a small settlement called Oak Creek that they would reach by evening. Alys hoped that they had some form of inn there, she didn’t fancy trying to set up camp on the muddy ground.</p><p>Several hours later, they arrived to Oak Creek, it was a rather small settlement, although the inn was impressively large. Most of the buildings in this village were constructed in traditional Breton style—lots of stone and clay buildings with thatch roofs. Once they reached the inn, Alys pulled her hood down.</p><p>The barkeep here was an older Khajjit man that was cleaning glasses while a few younger Khajjit were taking care of the inn’s other patrons. Apparently half the town had the same idea for a few drinks after working during the dreary day.  </p><p>“Hello travelers, what can this one do for you? Perhaps some mulled wine? Or maybe some bourbon to warm you up?” the barkeeper asked them.</p><p>“Actually, we were wondering if you have any rooms open.” Idelsan told him</p><p>“Hmm, so I unfortunately only have one open that has a bed. I could have one of my sons put two more bedrolls in there” the barkeeper informed him.</p><p>Before Idelsan responded, Alys decided to just use her own bedroll. “Don’t worry about that, I can use the bedroll in my pack” she told the barkeeper. “Also, I think I may get that glass of mulled wine later.”</p><p>“Also, travelers, this one’s name is Kharo if you need anything else” Kharo introduced himself casually. Most Khajjit Alys had met often switched between referring to themselves in third person or first person, occasionally it threw her off in conversations. “Your room is upstairs, first one on the left” he pointed towards the creaky wooden stairs.</p><p>They all walked up the stairs towards the rather small room. A small single bed was pushed up against the wall and a small oak dresser was under the window overlooking the village’s main square.</p><p>“Now the real question is, who should get the bed?” Idelsan asked them. “Personally I would love it, but where would my manners be if I claimed it for myself?”</p><p>“Eh, I got lice from a room like this once, I’ll take my chances sleeping on the floor” Hadvar commented.</p><p>“Oh?” Alys asked him. She had a feeling that it was a story related to some bar wench.</p><p>Hadvar shrugged at her innocently. “Don’t judge, I used to spend a lot of time at bars before I became a high ranking officer in the legion.”</p><p>“Sometimes I wonder if I chose the wrong profession” Ide muttered.</p><p>Hadvar found that comment amusing judging by the loud laugh he gave at Ide’s statement. “I’d offer to trade you if General Tullius didn’t remember what I looked like.”</p><p>            “Now that I think about it, I think I’ll pass on that opportunity” Idelsan said.</p><p>            Alys threw her pack on the bed and sat down on the cotton blanket. She looked up at both of them. “I guess I’ll take it then.”</p><p>            “Don’t complain to me if you get lice Miss Alys” Hadvar teased. “Let’s get a drink or two, Idelsan.” They both walked out of the room and down the stairs towards the bar.</p><p>            Alys took off her traveling coat and unstrapped her boots that were becoming too worn out with this trip. She laid on top of the bed for several minutes just blankly staring into space before falling asleep for the night.  </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Five</p><p>            <em>Sounds of screams woke Alys up. Shit, not this dream again, she pleaded with herself as she recognized the inner part of the temple where she/Illiarion was stabbed by the centurion. The centurion’s needle pierced her abdomen yet again and let out a blood-curdling scream as the white-hot heat spread throughout her body. The Dwemer in front of her held out a jagged black soul gem and she opened her mouth to scream…those screams were in vain as she realized she was screaming into the eternal void. </em></p><p>            Sounds of someone pounding on her door knocked her out of her trance.</p><p>            “Alys, are you okay? Answer me!” her father shouted.</p><p>            Rolling her eyes, she scrambled to throw her robe on and swing open the door. Her father did love to worry about her. Sure enough, Lakel looked frazzled and his slight wrinkles seemed more pronounced than usual.</p><p>            “Father, I’m fine, you worry too much. Just a night terror” she told him as she attempted to shrug the residual fear from her nightmare away.</p><p>            “Your mother and I have noticed that you haven’t been the same since your little ‘expedition’ a few months ago.” Her father’s tone was a mixture of accusatory and concern. He sat down on her wicker chair that she had dragged in yesterday when the first snow fell. “Idelsan said that you started to change after nearly drowning in the Sea of Ghosts and were saved by that soldier boy.”</p><p>            Alys crossed her arms and couldn’t help but notice the emphasis that her father had placed on his description of Hadvar as some ‘soldier boy’. She had mentioned that he was a high ranking officer in the Skyrim branch of the Imperial Legion.</p><p>            “For the hundredth time, I’m fine. Really I am; perhaps I just need to brew some tea before I go to bed.”</p><p>            Her father glanced at the dozens of drawings and schematics that were tacked onto the wall or thrown all over her desk. Most of them were depictions of small Dwemer artifacts, for which many of them Alys had no explanation. He arched his eyebrow and took a deep breath.</p><p>            “One of my children is fighting on a war front right now, yet somehow your path worries me the most” he stated sadly, bringing his head to rest in his hands.</p><p>            “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ve been studying magical subjects for nearly a decade now, I think I would know if I am in too deep” she responded softly.</p><p>            “Alys, your obsession with that accursed race has taken over your life. I see you during the day—you spend most of it hunched over that desk of yours drawing these accursed pictures! Then at night, all you do is scream.”</p><p>            “I just draw what comes to my mind. Lately, I think the nightmares are helping me with everything. I’ve never had so many ideas flowing through my mind and then onto paper.”</p><p>            “Ugh. I’m giving this up. Mark my words—if you continue this pattern, I will burn all of those drawings. I want my daughter back, the daughter with a sense of adventure and the one whose eyes light up when she sees any horse.”</p><p>            Her father left the room and slammed the door behind him. She flinched at the vibrations from the door shutting. Maybe he did have a point about her being obsessed, it was becoming harder for her every day to recall when she had last read anything that was not remotely related to the Dwemer.</p><p>            There was a healthy stack of letters all the way from Sun’s Height that she had yet to even read. It was now the fifteenth day of Sun’s Dusk. After lighting two tallow candles on her desk, she wrapped herself in her beige woolen blanket and sat at her desk. There was no way on Nirn that she was going to attempt to sleep again until later on in the day.</p><p>            She grasped the stack of letters and started to shuffle through them. One particular letter caught her interest—the handwriting looked rather shaky. Grabbing her letter opener from the holder, she cut open the envelope.</p><p>            <em>Thirty-First Day of Frostfall</em></p><p>
  <em>            Dear Alys Rivers,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hope this letter finds you well. I am Maric Howell and I am a head engineer for the Markarth Branch of the Imperial Legion. Note that this is not official legion business; hence the lack of the Imperial insignia. There is a certain project we are working on in Markarth and I believe that we could use your expertise wisely on this project. For obvious reasons, I cannot officially offer you a position in the Imperial Legion; however, I will be able to pay you, say 1000 Septims a week for any assistance you may offer to us for at least four to six months. Please send word when you have read this letter. Show this letter to any Legion officer and they should offer you some form of escort into Markarth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>            --Maric Howell</em>
</p><p>Oh, now that letter was a pleasant surprise, except for the part about having to relocate to Markarth for six months. Skyrim was simply too cold for her and she was worried about getting caught in a blizzard along the Skyrim portion of the Dragontail mountains. Plus, how was she going to get there? She sure as oblivion was not traveling there alone, she needed a guide through the mountains. Also, the reachmen in the Markarth region are infamous for their brutality towards travelers.</p><p>            Maybe later today would be a good time to head into Wayrest, she thought. Hopefully she would be able to find at least two trustworthy companions for the journey. She was optimistic that she could get one of the battlemages from the college to help her out, since hand to hand was a personal weakness for her. Idelsan was a no go, he had enough adventure during last summer to satisfy him for the next few years. Any restlessness he had around the estate vanished after returning home. Lately he had been helping their parents with securing new buyers for their horses; which was a task he seemed content with for the time.</p><p>            Sleep started to overcome her mind once more as she decided to go back to bed and think about this decision before drifting to sleep. If she recalled correctly, Markarth was quite close to Solitude, which unfortunately means that war may be on her doorstep if she is heading towards Markarth.</p><p>            Nightmares did not visit her this time, for which she was grateful when she arose once more as dim sunlight pierced her windows. Still thinking about the letter, she mulled over the possibility once more in her mind. Her inner optimist was overcome with curiosity while her inner pessimist was thinking of the proximity to a war front.</p><p>            Unfortunately, she had been unable to hear much news from Skyrim, since the Sea of Ghosts was nearly unpassable because of a Thalmor blockade. This whole conflict seemed confusing to her—Thalmor agents usually hide in the shadows of cities and use the shadows to kidnap any prominent Thalmor dissenters. Last year she had heard several rumors that the Aldmeri Dominion’s grasp on Valenwood was greatly weakened after a number of Bosmer revolutionary groups started invading Thalmor outposts.</p><p>            One of her colleagues theorized last week at lecture that the Thalmor’s end goal was to completely decimate the empire; which had been weak for over two centuries now. The Medes were not a well-loved family before the Oblivion crisis and only won the Septim Empire through sheer numbers and brutality. For a time they claimed that the Champion of Cyrodiil was from their family—a rumor which was found to be untrue once more people learned that the Champion was a formidable Redoran mage from Blacklight.</p><p>            Still lost in her thoughts, she absentmindedly sat at her desk and scrawled out a quick note to send to Markarth.</p><p>            <em>Dear Maric Howell, </em></p><p>
  <em>            I find your offer to be quite enticing. I will start on my journey towards Markarth now. I somehow doubt that this message will arrive before I reach Markarth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            Best Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Alys Rivers</em>
</p><p>She put the note in her pocket and made a mental reminded that she needed to find a courier that was willing to head into Skyrim right now. There were a few Imperial squads further east on the road towards Evermore, she was going to bring Maric’s original letter along to try to convince the local officers that she had a legitimate reason to travel with them to Skyrim.</p><p>Her pack was on the floor and she started filling it with her traveling clothes and a few emergency potions for the journey. He couldn’t have sent her a letter during springtime or the summer, she thought, dreading the thought of having to trek through mountain passes during the winter.</p><p>She threw on her drab wool shirt and pants and tied her grey cape around her shoulders. Throwing her pack on her back, she descended down the stairs.</p><p>“Where are you going Alys?” Idelsan asked. He looked confused at her warm garb.</p><p>She hugged her brother before answering his question. “I found a temporary job position in Markarth working for the Imperial engineers. Don’t worry, it’ll only be for the winter, then I will be back by next summer.”</p><p>“I will take you at your word there. Also, I really hope you become better at responding to letters in Skyrim” Idelsan remarked.</p><p>“I promise, I’m going to try to do better about responding. You know how I am, I just forget sometimes.”</p><p>They hugged one last time and she hurried down to her parents’ library. The library was a modest room filled with shelves that were a foot shy of reaching the ceiling. Fire from the fireplace warmed up the room, which made it seem quite comfortable. Her Mother and Father were both sitting at chairs near the fireplace.</p><p>“Mother, father, I’m going to Markarth for the winter. I’m going to be working for an Imperial engineer there and I will be back here by summertime.”</p><p>“Alys! That’s too close to Solitude, plus by the time you’re able to get to Markarth, it may be taken over by the Thalmor” her father responded, sounding taken aback by this idea.</p><p>Her mother glanced at her and glanced down at the ground before looking her in the eyes again. “Lakel, Alys has Auriel to guide and protect her. Also, she will have soldiers that will protect her. Plus, it’s only a week to get to Markarth from here, if we need to go visit” Sorriyn assured her husband.</p><p>Lakel sighed. “I’ll worry, but I know you’ll thrive in Markarth.”</p><p>Both of her parents hugged her and wished her the best before she left the library. Shoot, she realized that she will need to put on her set of leather armor. It was still being kept in a small chest near the foyer. The armor hadn’t even been tried on yet—it arrived the other day from a blacksmith in Wayrest. After unwrapping the armor from the paper inside the chest, she smiled. It was a charcoal gray color that was more inconspicuous than her old blue leather armor. Anything that gave away her family’s wealth would likely make her a target along the road or even in Markarth itself. Many travelers often mention that the City of Stone is a brutal city at times—although things have become better since the ousting of the old silver mining families who were ousted during the civil war.</p><p>Using the mirror for reference, she strapped the armor on, hide strap by strap. The leather helm felt quite comfortable as she adjusted the hide strap on the helmet. Her reflection in the mirror felt different to her. Even though she was in her mid-twenties, she still felt as if she was still a naïve teenager, eager to explore Tamriel.</p><p>Before leaving, she filled a small canvas knapsack with some preserved food for the journey. She had plenty of venison jerky from the hunt her father had went on recently and plenty of apples and cheese to sustain her on the journey.</p><p>Her legs started to shake a bit from nervousness about the journey. It was only going to be a weeklong, which wasn’t terrible by her standards. It just made her nervous, traveling with people she didn’t know, even if they were Imperial soldiers. Well, that is if they believe that he letter from Maric Howell is legitimate.</p><p>Bleu neighed happily as she walked closer to his stall. He pawed the ground in anticipation and eagerly accepted a small carrot from her pack as she started to adjust the saddle on him. She tied the straps so they were secure on Bleu’s chest and added her saddle bags to his saddle. She was lucky that Bleu was a tough horse that could handle extra luggage for this voyage.</p><p>Heart still beating fast, she jumped in the saddle and nudged Bleu with the heel of her foot into a fast trot down the path that led to the main road. She estimated that it would take about an hour to reach the small outpost of Imperial soldiers stationed at Fort Wrothgar.</p><p>Air coming down from the mountains today brought a seasonal chill into the air. It was still early enough in the day that a glimmering frost coated the ground outside. Except for the most stubborn oak trees, all of the trees stood bare of their colorful leaves.</p><p>Much to Alys’ surprise, the King’s Road was filled with other travelers. To be honest, she felt significantly safer with numerous other travelers on the road as well. She was eager to avoid any marauders, since the past few encounters with them had been rather close, even when Hadvar was fighting along her side.</p><p>Hadvar, she really hadn’t thought about him much until last night when she saw that she had received a letter from him. It was the second one she had received from him—she felt immensely guilty for not responding to either of the letters. Long-distance correspondence was difficult enough for her to handle, let alone contemplating any kind of romantic relationship with an Imperial Legion officer. She had no intention of leaving High Rock permanently for a partner that would be gone most of the time on legion business. It was hard enough to stay close to Cyrus and he was only a week’s ship ride to the south.</p><p>Her mind started racing with the same thoughts that had been plaguing her for months now. Whenever she had these ‘thoughts’ she always had the urge to start mindlessly sketching. When she finished any of those drawings, she felt normal once more. It frustrated her endlessly to have this voice in her head that was feeding her constant information, even if she did find it fascinating. One day she was sketching machines, the next she had created horrifying images of herself becoming ensnared through a soul gem into the dreadful soul cairn.</p><p>            “Come on Alys, you need to fight these urges so they don’t take over your life again” she said aloud, trying to convince herself that she was strong enough to resist the demands being made in her mind by these foreign thoughts. “Am I crazy?” she asked the world around her, no travelers paying her any mind.</p><p>            As she was trying to convince herself that she wasn’t crazy, she got closer to the pristine Wrothgar Fort. In terms of forts, it was relatively new, only being thirty years old. The ruling councils of both Evermore and Wayrest had decided that there should be more fortifications between the two settlements, especially due to Evermore’s long history of bloody territorial battles. She nudged Bleu onto the stony path that led into the fort.</p><p>            Squads of legionnaires appeared to be training outside of the fort. Battle mages were practicing ward spells and archers were honing in on their distant straw targets. Four heavily armored legionnaires were guarding the fort’s entryway.</p><p>            “Halt!” one of the guards shouted, holding up his hand to indicate that she needed to stop. “This fort is off limit for civilians, I will have to ask you to leave. Good day my lady.”</p><p>            “I have a letter from an Imperial engineer in Markarth, he requests my services” Alys responded coolly. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the letter from Maric Howell.</p><p>            The guard seemed skeptical but he held out his hand for her. She placed the letter into his hand and glanced it over quickly—he appeared to be mainly concerned about finding an official Imperial legion seal on the letter, which was present.</p><p>            “Hmm, this letter seems to be legitimate. Let me escort you to the fort commander” he reluctantly decided. He handed the letter back to her.</p><p>            She smiled at him. “Thank you, I would greatly appreciate it, sir.”</p><p>            He nodded at her and led her through the courtyard of the fort and up the stairs that led to the largest circular tower overlooking the lowlands of High Rock’s eastern region. He knocked thrice on the door to the commander’s office.</p><p>            The fort’s commander opened the door and gestured both of them in, looking at Alys curiously. He was a sturdy Breton with a closely shaven gray beard and peppery hair.</p><p>            “Praefect Dunst, what is the meaning of this?” the commander asked.</p><p>            “Sir, this civilian has a letter from Maric Howell, he is requesting her assistance in Markarth.”</p><p>            “Interesting.” He looked her in the eyes with his own steely blue eyes. “May I see that letter Ma’am?”</p><p>            “Yes sir, here you go” she said as she handed him the letter.</p><p>            “Thank you Ma’am.” Interesting that Maric Howell wrote you directly, do you know him?” he asked with much curiosity in his voice.</p><p>            “We’ve never been acquainted. However, it’s possible he has heard of me from a few colleagues with which I have corresponded from the College of Winterhold.”</p><p>            “Fair enough. I notice that your last name is Rivers. Are you one of the Rivers that own that big herd of horses in Wayrest?”</p><p>            “Yes, Lakel and Sorriyn Rivers are my parents.”</p><p>            “Ah, I see. Well, I personally know Maric. The man is a genius and the legion greatly benefits from his services.”</p><p>            “He does sound brilliant.”</p><p>            “I will assign ten soldiers to accompany you to Markarth. I needed a small party sent into The Reach anyhow. Can you fight?”</p><p>            “Yes, I’m excellent with destruction magic and I can use a sword if needed” she responded confidently.</p><p>            “Good to hear that my men’s time will not be wasted babysitting along the road. Praefect Dunst, notify Squad Three that they’re being sent to Markarth.”</p><p>            “On my way, Commander” the Praefect said as he saluted his commander.</p><p>            Alys followed the Praefect out of the office. Having a group of well-trained soldiers accompanying her to Markarth relieved a great deal of tension she had about getting close to the border territory. The closest border entry to Skyrim heading this direction would lead them through the formerly disputed territory between Hammerfell, High Rock and Skyrim. There tended to be a great deal of bandit activity closer to the borders, especially in Hammerfell, mostly due to the chaos and upheaval Hammerfell has experienced since the Great War.</p><p>            Praefect Dunst introduced her to the squad that would accompany her. They seemed to be a diverse group of Dunmer, Orismer, Argonians, and Nords.</p><p>            “All right Squad Three, by order of the commander, you are to escort Miss Alys Rivers to Markarth. Her presence has been requested by Maric Howell, a fellow legionnaire.”</p><p>            “Understood Praefect Dunst” the stocky Orismer leader said in agreement. He turned around to face the rest of the squad. “Time to move out team, we will arrive in Markarth in four days.”</p><p>            Alys was impressed with the timing—usually it took most casual travelers close to a week to get to Markarth from the western region of High Rock. Bleu was tied at the hitching post just outside the fort.</p><p>Once she reached him, she mounted him and waited for the rest of the group to catch up with her. The rest of the squad were mounted on their horses and nudged them into a canter. She definitely was glad that Bleu had a decent amount of endurance to keep up with the war horses. </p><p>           </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter Six</p><p>            The Wrothgar and Dragontail Mountains were a sight to behold as Alys and the Legion patrol were riding through the pass that would lead them slightly south of Markarth. Barnak, the Orismer in charge of the group estimated that they would arrive in Markarth at sun high today.</p><p>            Alys had noticed that the air was surprisingly warm as they were crossing over into Skyrim—not a speck of snow in sight, much to her relief. She remembered that Markarth tended to be the warmest city in all of Skyrim, mostly due to its advantageous position as a valley in one of the largest mountain ranges in Tamriel. Most of the ground in the pass was covered in a thick layer of moss that seemed to be prolific in this area, so much so that it draped from some of the hemlock tree branches. She still wasn’t enthused about being in Skyrim, but being in this temperate rainforest for a winter could prove to be quite interesting.</p><p>            “Barnak, does it get cold here during the winter?” she asked the orc.</p><p>            He turned around in his saddle and looked at her. “Cold by your standards, yes. However, it doesn’t snow here so at least that’s something to look forward to. You should be glad that Howell is in Markarth and not that gods-forsaken village of Winterhold—the cold seeps right into your bones there” he remarked in his deep voice.</p><p>            “Are you from this region then?” she asked him curiously.</p><p>            “I grew up in Dushnikh Val, an orc stronghold in these parts. I was the youngest child of the fourth bride of the chieftain. Needless to say, as I got older, there really wasn’t a place for me there. Then I joined the Imperial Legion” he said as he gave a quick overview of his life to Alys.</p><p>            “Orismer culture is truly fascinating Barnak” she commented, at an attempt to continue the conversation.</p><p>            “Pft, maybe to outsiders” he laughed dismissively.</p><p>            Alys took that as a cue to stop asking him questions for the rest of the journey, which was only going to be a few more hours. Bleu seemed weary for from the journey through the mountain pass into Skyrim.  Personally, she was going to be glad when they reached Markarth so she could lay in a proper bed.</p><p>            She also felt the familiar itch to draw machinations that had been present in the back of her mind for months now. Although, perhaps it was time to respond to Hadvar’s letters and write to her family once they reached Markarth.</p><p>            Right as she was imagining Markarth in her mind, she realized that they were quickly approaching the city. Nchund-Zel, the Dwemer used to call it—during their time it was an architectural achievement. Vast caverns and valuable silver veins run under the city, which features many waterfalls and is built in layers that climb up the mountain. Markarth appeared to be stunning from the distance, the bronze detailing on the towers reflected light from the distance and she could actually distinguish a vast waterfall that separated the two main city districts.</p><p>            “Wow, Markarth really is beautiful” she couldn’t help saying aloud.</p><p>            “It’s gotten better since the Silver-Bloods were eh…removed from Markarth several years ago” the Nord woman behind her told her.</p><p>            “Who were they?”</p><p>            “A morally bankrupt family that used a Forsworn king as their puppet in one of their mines. I was in this city as Madanach was released from his prison and slaughtered dozens of guards and civilians. Needless to say, the waterfalls ran red with blood on that day and the Silver-Bloods were all executed for their treachery” the Nord continued.</p><p>            “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name earlier?” Alys asked her.</p><p>            “I’m Sanna. I actually am going to be your assigned body guard in Markarth. I doubt old Barnak had mentioned that to you.”</p><p>            Sanna nudged her chestnut mare closer to Alys. She glanced at Sanna and smiled. Sanna had dark blonde hair that slightly poked out from underneath her Legionnaire helm and friendly pale blue eyes. If Alys had to guess, she appeared to be around the same age as her.</p><p>            Barnak definitely had not mentioned to her that she was going to be assigned a body guard. Hell, whenever the College of Whispers sent her somewhere shady, they never offered her any kind of body guard—they just assumed she was a capable enough mage to defend herself in combat. Then again, she wasn’t going to turn down the extra protection, especially since she was in unfamiliar territory. She did have to admit that she felt like a jackass for writing off traveling to Skyrim in the past. It was becoming apparent that Skyrim was more than snow, pine trees, and dragons.</p><p>            “Sanna, will we see a dragon here?” she asked, trying to hide the concerned tone of her voice.</p><p>            “Don’t you worry, they’re not as common as you would think in Skyrim.” Sanna reassured her with a kind smile. “Can’t wait to get this darn helmet off later. Stupid strap is rubbing my chin raw.”</p><p>            Alys looked around and saw that they were in one of the villages surrounding Markarth. It appeared that most of Markarth’s working class lived outside of the walls, probably due to the ancient stone houses inside the walls being exorbitantly expensive. The situation was the same in Wayrest, so this was somewhat familiar to Alys. Wagons were coming into the villages, carrying either miners or uncovered ore. There were hundreds of farms that she could see off into the distance—after all this region was able to sustain more agriculture than most other regions of Skyrim. She had to estimate that there must be thousands of people that inhabit this region alone.</p><p>            There were a great deal of fellow Bretons and Redguards here, so she felt less out of place than what she expected. She noticed that many Bretons here were covered in various tattoos, signifying that they were Reachmen.</p><p>            Barnak signaled them to dismount at the upcoming stable—apparently it was one that the Imperial Legion shared with the Jarl of Markarth. She dismounted Bleu reluctantly and unstrapped her saddle bags. The kind Nord stable master reassured her that her horse was in good hands, sensing that she didn’t like leaving him in an unfamiliar place.</p><p>            She threw her saddle bags around her shoulder, the other soldiers seemed to have no issue with this, and then again this was likely an everyday occurrence for them. It was certainly killing her back slowly as she walked up the grand staircase that led into the city.</p><p>            They walked into the main plaza, which was Markarth’s main marketplace. It was abuzz with shouts from merchants selling their wares. A small creek ran through the plaza, splitting it in two with a walkway connecting the two plazas. Much to her displeasure, she had countless flights of stairs to climb until they reached what she assumed would be the Jarl’s palace. Guards wearing the green sigil of Markarth were everywhere, as were legion soldiers. Alys imagined that they had started bolstering security due to the disaster in Solitude. She still had not heard much about the situation in Solitude.</p><p>            Her leg muscles were practically screaming as she started ascending the final staircase that was next to a waterfall. Stunning view, she was sure of, but it would be easier to appreciate without all of the gear she was carrying.</p><p>            The palace or ‘Underkeep’ guards opened the doors for the soldiers as they passed through. They were wearing a more ornate steel plate armor with a green cape, which distinguished them from the rest of the guards. As they waved her inside, much to her disappointment, there was another flight of stairs to climb. Ugh, she thought, my poor legs.</p><p>            They reached the top story, which was apparently where Maric Howell resided. The other soldiers seemed relieved as well when Barnak led them to the area inside the palace designated for the Legion. He directed Senna and Alys towards the patio where a middle-aged Imperial man was sorting through various metal parts. Two Altmer researchers at a nearby table had an impressive alembic and decanter set and they appeared to be experimenting with potions.</p><p>            “Alys, I can take your pack from you, if you want to go introduce yourself to Maric Howell, he is the Imperial down there” she said as she pointed him out.</p><p>            “Thank you Senna, I really appreciate it” Alys responded gratefully.</p><p>            She made her way down to the patio where Maric Howell was. He seemed to be deep in thought, but otherwise seemed normal enough. His leather apron was stained with grease and his white shirt had ink stains around the wrist—Alys could definitely relate to that issue.</p><p>            “Maric Howell, I presume?” Alys asked respectfully.</p><p>            “You’re presumed correctly Miss…?”</p><p>            “Miss Alys Rivers. I am here to accept that job offer.”</p><p>            “Splendid dear! I was wondering if you were going to even respond. I’ve heard you take your sweet time responding to letters, so you’re actually here sooner than I expected.”</p><p>            Huh? Alys was confused, up until she had read the letter from Maric, she had never heard of the man. She must have had a confused look on her face, because Maric looked at her oddly.</p><p>            “What do you mean by that?”</p><p>            “That polite young legate that recommended you to me told me that.”</p><p>            Polite young legate, he must have been referring to Hadvar. “Ah, Legate Derickkson?” she inquired.</p><p>            “That would be the one, yes. He comes by here every so often, then again he is charge of The Reach’s Imperial forces.”</p><p>            “That’s rather curious I suppose.”</p><p>            “Anyways, Miss Rivers, let me bring you up to speed with this mess” he said while gesturing at the heap of metal bits on the stone table. “As you likely know already, Markarth sits upon an even vaster abandoned Dwarven city full of scraps such as these.”</p><p>            “Are you trying to recreate automatons?” she asked slowly.</p><p>            “No, that’s a waste of time. We are going to use these scraps to design new types of weapons and perhaps create our own version of an automaton. The reason you’re here is because Legate Derickkson said that you have been trying to find funding to pursue a similar project. Therefore, he deemed this arrangement an ‘excellent idea’ so he says anyways.”</p><p>            “It’s been a pleasure meeting you Mister Howell, I think I’m going to head back to my room to get all of my notes.”</p><p>            “Don’t worry about that right now kid, we’ve got tomorrow. Go get yourself settled in” he told her and waved his hands to dismiss her.</p><p>            Maric came across as friendly enough, she supposed. One thing she had learned over the years was that some creators tended to get enraptured in their projects, to the point of becoming anti-social. Oh, then again she was already there, locking herself in her room all day and pouring over dusty and mistranslated dusty transcripts.</p><p>            She didn’t know how to feel about Hadvar telling Maric Howell about her—she was grateful, but she wasn’t sure why he would go out on a limb and recommend her for a cushy job position. In all honesty, this would be the first steady job she has ever had; which is fact that made her feel uncomfortable at times. Yes, she was as lecturer at the College of Whispers, but she would hardly call getting paid a few thousand septims over the course of five years much of a steady job. Plus, she tried to be a mercenary in the Colovian Highlands for a few weeks after her broke off the engagement with that wretched man.</p><p>            Thinking about getting a drink came to mind just about now, maybe she would check out the tavern close to the Underkeep. Even though mead was the most popular drink of choice in Skyrim, she had heard that snowberry wine was worth trying.</p><p>            She walked up the stairs that led to the main entryway and then down once more to leave the keep. If she remembered right, the inn was fairly close to the waterfall as well. Loud and boisterous sounds could be heard coming out of the inn. A few Nords were outside chatting and drinking mead.</p><p>            “Alys, part of having a bodyguard is letting me know when you’re leaving to go somewhere!” Sanna told her, running up behind her.</p><p>Sanna looked miffed and Alys felt bad for not telling her she wanted to leave the keep for both drinks and dinner. “I’m so sorry Sanna, I’m really not used to having a body guard” she told her apologetically.</p><p>“I suppose I understand that, it can be weird having someone trailing you everywhere” she told her and shrugged. “Also, this tavern is quite good, if I recall correctly.”</p><p>“I’m hoping they have drinks that aren’t just mead; unfortunately I’m not fond of mead.”</p><p>Sanna put her hand over her heart and pretended to be greatly offended by Alys’ comment. “That’s a critique of Nord culture if I have ever heard one” she responded with a smile. “Come on, let’s head inside” she said as she opened the door for Alys.</p><p>The tavern’s interior seemed rather cramped; revelers were everywhere and a small crowd gathered around an allegedly professional bard from the Bard’s College in Solitude. He was singing some song about an ugly man’s head rolling around on the floor. Personally, she thought it was rather macabre, but many of the Nords showed much enthusiasm for the song.</p><p>Sanna found a clean table for them to sit at and one of the barmaids noticed them and came over to their table. The barmaid was a tall redhead Nord that Alys assumed was around twenty. She beamed a smile at them and brought over a bowl of jazbay grapes and buttermilk biscuits. Her attire seemed interesting to Alys since it was rather revealing for the chilly late autumn air.</p><p>“Hello, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you two ladies before. My name is Ingrid and this is my second week in Markarth. Truly a beautiful city, if I say so myself. What would you ladies like today?” She asked as she took out a small notepad from her apron pocket.</p><p>“Do you have snowberry wine?” Alys asked her.</p><p>“Yes, we do! And it’s absolutely delicious” Ingrid assured her.</p><p>“Perfect, I also would like a bowl of apple-cabbage soup. This is my first time in Skyrim, so I’m open to trying new things.”</p><p>Ingrid jotted that down and turned her attention to Sanna. “What about you Miss?”</p><p>“Apple-cabbage soup and a pint of Honningbrew mead” Sanna responded.</p><p>“Sounds good, I’ll have the cook get those started for you two.”</p><p>Alys folded her arms in subconsciously and wasn’t sure what to discuss with Sanna. She noticed the impressive blister that was forming on Sanna’s chin from the legionnaire helmet being strapped too tightly on her face.</p><p>“What are your first impressions of Markarth, Miss Alys?” Sanna asked her curiously, her blue eyes trying to make eye contact with Alys.</p><p>“It’s one of the most fascinating cities I have been to so far. I’ve never seen a city quite like this one—the waterfalls and the Dwarven architecture are stunning. I will have to admit though that I’m not familiar with much of the history of Markarth” Alys responded thoughtfully.</p><p>Sanna laughed nervously at Alys’ last statement. “Well, it unfortunately this fair city has seen much bloodshed over the past thirty years. As you know, my kinsmen have a rather…tumultuous relationship with the Forsworn. During the Great War, the empire sent most of their Skyrim garrison to the Imperial City; which left Markarth with a small garrison of soldiers. The Forsworn saw this as an opportunity to rule the reach once again.”</p><p>“Didn’t Ulfric Stormcloak have something to do with the Forsworn?” Alys asked curiously.</p><p>“Yes. After several years of occupation, the rich noble families persuaded Stormcloak to take back Markarth from the Forsworn. Then, well there’s no better way to put this” she whispered to Alys. “Anyone suspected of being related to the Forsworn were slaughtered, no matter how defenseless they were.”</p><p>By the eight divines, Alys had no idea just how brutal Ulfric’s followers could be. War is brutal and both sides commit atrocities in combat; however, Alys was horrified that Ulfric had ordered children to be slaughtered. She got why she was whispering though, a great number of Nords in Markarth still supported Ulfric reclaiming the city for the Nords.</p><p>“Between the two of us, I think we should try to make amends with the Forsworn” Sanna told her in confidence.</p><p>“I think that would be a wise option, especially with everything going on right now” Alys nodded in agreement. “So, where are you from Sanna?”</p><p>Sanna looked grateful that Alys decided to change the subject. “My parents were both merchants, so I have lived all over Skyrim. Despite, well everything, I do think of Windhelm as home, I was born there and I have spent much time there. Did you know that it’s the one of the oldest inhabited cities of man in all of Tamriel?” she asked Alys. Sanna seemed to be quite apologetic for mentioning that she thought of Windhelm as her true home.</p><p>“I did not realize that, maybe I could visit there one day. It’s a shame that the city has such a tarnished reputation, but I’m sure Nords like you will help turn Windhelm around.”</p><p>Sanna smiled at that. “I sure hope so, I haven’t been there since last spring. The legion keeps me quite busy.”</p><p>Ingrid brought out their bowls of soup. Alys hoped that the soup would be delicious, since the smell of the cabbage was a bit much for her at times. They both ate in silence for few minutes. Surprisingly, Alys found both the soup and the snowberry wine to be quite flavorful. Many of the louder Nords were starting to leave in droves as the inn keeper politely told a few of them that he thought they had had enough mead for the night.</p><p>Soon her bowl of soup was empty and the snowberry wine had left her head feeling foggy. She had forgotten that alcohol was served rather generously in Skyrim.</p><p>Sanna cleared her throat after downing the last of her Honningbrew mead. “Are you ready to head back to the Underkeep?”</p><p>“Yes, my head is starting to feel rather foggy” Alys responded. She got out of the wooden chair slowly, to make sure that her balance was fine. It would be humiliating if Sanna on day one would have to give her a hand getting her back to the keep in one piece.</p><p>As Sanna opened the door, the crisp night air slapped Alys in the face. They both started to ascend the stairs into the keep and Sanna bid her farewell as she headed into her room. Despite the wine, Alys didn’t feel quite ready for bed. She wondered if Maric was enough of a workaholic to still be working away at this hour.</p><p>She peered down at his workbench, sure enough her suspicion was correct. Maric cleared some of the metal rubble off of the table and had a large piece of parchment spread over the table. Walking down the stairs was starting to become easier as the wine started to wear off her mind.</p><p>“Maric, I think you should take your own advice and turn in for the night” she suggested to the exhausted looking man.</p><p>He gave her an irritated look. “Not now kid, I just had an idea and I’m going to forget it by the morning. I also don’t start working until the evening anyways. Lately, the night has been when my mind flourishes” he explained.</p><p>He did sound like a bit of a madman, but as long as he didn’t force her to stay up all night on projects, she was sure he would be fine to work with for a few months.</p><p>“Do you know why you have bodyguard?” he asked her while he started to sketch out a blueprint.</p><p>“No, I just assumed the legion thought I was incapable of defending myself.”</p><p>“Hey, you’re partially right! My last assistant got himself assassinated by a Thalmor agent. Don’t you worry Miss, that agent is dead now!” Maric exclaimed enthusiastically.</p><p>Ah, now that was hardly comforting to know. “Well, I suppose I hope that I have better luck than him.”</p><p>“Since you know, we are at war with them now, it is easier to kill any agents on sight. They’re silly enough to wear those robes, even blind men know the rustle of those Thalmor robes.”</p><p>“Okay then, Mister Howell, I’m going to turn in for the night.” Alys told him as she awkwardly backed away from this uncomfortable conversation.</p><p>If Maric was telling the truth about Hadvar recommending her for his assistant position, she was going to have a word with him. Once she reached her room, she summoned a weak fire palm spell that allowed her to light two tallow candles on the desk provided for her. She opened the drawer of the desk in hope of finding a sharp quill. Ah, she found one that was a little too sharp.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Hadvar Derickkson,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>            I apologize for the long delay in responding to your letters. Over the past few months, I’ve become horrible about responding to letters. I’m working on managing this feeling I get where I constantly sketch out ideas, I’ve been able to manage those emotions better lately. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Okay, I met Maric Howell today. He is a genius, but by the eight divines is he a madman right from the Shivering Isles! I suppose I’m grateful for you recommending me for this position, although I think I may rip my hair out while working with Maric. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He claimed that his former assistant was assassinated, although I really don’t know if I should believe everything that comes out of his mouth. I’ve met people like him at The College of Whispers and they tend to have a hard time distinguishing their imagination from reality. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>He mentioned that you visit the Underkeep often, so I’m assuming that you’re stationed somewhere in The Reach? Once again, I apologize for not writing you back sooner. Perhaps I will see you sooner, rather than later?</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Warm Regards,</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Alys Rivers. </em>
</p><p>There, long-awaited response finished. Tomorrow morning she would take it to the Imperial Legion courier office and hand it off to them.</p><p>She glanced over her shoulder at the bed in the corner. It was a queen-sized bed made out of juniper wood and covered in what she assumed to be a stitched together sabre cat and bear pelt. Crossing her fingers that the mattress wasn’t straw filled, she felt much relief when it turned out to be a mixture of wild cotton and feathers. Feeling stressed out from Maric, traveling, and worry about getting assassinated, she fell face down in the mattress and fell asleep nearly instantly. </p><p>The night hours flew by fast in her sleep and when she awoke on her side, she had a difficult time distinguishing what time it was, since there were no windows in her room. Maybe she should buy an hourglass at the market today.</p><p>Assuming that it was around eight in the morning, she went over to her pack and pulled out her worn-woolen tan leggings and brown skirt that she threw on over her cotton undergarments. Realizing that she didn’t have a fresh shirt to wear today, she hoped that perhaps there was some kind of shirt in the ornate Dwemer chest in the corner by the bed. She opened it up and saw that there were a few cotton shirts in the bottom of it. She found a black shirt with buttons and buttoned it up over her breast band. She tucked it into her skirt and braided her curls to keep her hair out of her face.</p><p>Remembering the letter she left on the desk last night, she walked over to the desk and threw it into an envelope. She heated up the simple wax seal and pressed it upon the tip of the envelope. Time to head to the Imperial Legion office, hopefully they would be able to get it to him as soon as possible.</p><p>Shoot, she nearly forgot that she had to wake up Sanna before she was able to leave the Underkeep. She walked out the door way and locked the door. Right as she lifted her hand to knock on the door, she felt someone tap on her shoulder.</p><p>“Was about to wake you up Miss” Sanna remarked as she gave her a friendly smile. Noticing the letter in her hand, she looked at it curiously.  “Who’s the letter for, if it’s okay for me to ask?”</p><p>“Um, it’s for the legate that referred me to Maric Howell. I’m assuming that he’s stationed somewhere in The Reach, if I can trust a word that Howell says.”</p><p>“If it’s Legate Derickkson, he’s either here or at any of the forts in this region. He’s quite famous here in Skyrim for being one of the only survivors in Helgen and personally knowing the dragonborn, you know.”</p><p>They both put on their Imperial Legion cloaks and made their way towards the Underkeep’s exit. She preferred her gray cloak, but Sanna had mentioned that it was better if she wore the Legion cloak to deter any pickpockets. She had her father’s height, but she was still shorter than the average Imperial or Nord woman for which this cloak was designed.</p><p>“My brother made me quite aware of that fact several months ago.”</p><p>Sanna nodded and led her towards Markarth’s legion office, which was right across from the old Talos shrine. Given the sheer number of Nords and even Bretons that were seen entering and leaving the shrine, she was under the impression that the Legion didn’t give a damn about Talos worship now that they had removed any Aldmeri Dominion agents from the city. By slaughtering both a Nordic hero and a high-ranking Legion officer, all tenants of the White-Gold Concordant had been thrown out the window.</p><p>The office was quite narrow, which was to be expected since it was just a refurbished cave. Sanna pointed her towards the Bosmer woman standing at the stone table. A small group of officers in their heavy steel-plated armor stood in the corner, chatting amongst each other.</p><p>“Hello, Miss, do you have a letter to send to another soldier?”</p><p>“Yes, it’s for Legate Hadvar Derickkson” she told the Bosmer.</p><p>The Bosmer woman eyed her suspiciously. “Do you know him personally? Hadvar has asked us to not send him letters unless they’re from friends or family.” She seemed quite skeptical of Alys.</p><p>“Yes, he recommended me for my legion position and I wanted to thank him” she tried to sound as confident as possible.</p><p>“Okay, that works for me Miss. That’ll be three septims. Just set them here on the counter” she gestured.</p><p>Alys drew three coins out of her purse and gently placed them on the counter. One of the officers in the corner glanced at her, she was an older Nord woman with graying brunette hair, she nudged one of the other officers she was talking to and looked again at Alys.</p><p>Not thinking much of it, Alys and Senna left the office and reluctantly headed back to the Underkeep. She was dreading the prospect of working with Maric for hours on end today. Once they reached the work area, Sanna told her that she would be training guard recruits in one of the nearby common areas.</p><p>“Hello Maric, how goes it today?” she asked him as he looked like he had just rolled out of bed and washed his face.</p><p>“Ready to create, my dear!” he shouted a little too loud.</p><p>“All right, what do you want me to do?” she asked him.</p><p>“You can start by showing me some of your notes” he demanded.</p><p>She drew her notes from her pack and handed them over to him. They had been wrapped carefully before she had left home to make sure any inclement weather didn’t destroy them during the journey.</p><p>            The morning and afternoon flew by as they compared notes and started creating a miniature ballista out of dwarven metal gathered from the surrounding ruins. If she was going to be honest with herself, working with Maric on a project was rather invigorating since he was crazy enough to listen to any of her ideas. Towards what she felt to be sunset, she jumped as she felt someone clear their throat behind her. She assumed that it was just Sanna.</p><p>            “Sanna, I’m almost done working for the day.”</p><p>            The decidedly masculine voice behind her laughed. She turned her head and got a glimpse of who it was. Of course it was him standing there in his bulky steel plate armor with slicked back ginger hair.</p><p>            “I heard that you finally responded to my letter. They basically committed robbery by charging you three gold so they could walk to the legate office by the guard tower” he told her as he crossed his arms and smirked. “I share this region with three other legates, it can get rather dull being stuck inside Fort Sungard. What do you think of Skyrim?”</p><p>            “It’s a bit of a culture shock, if I am going to be honest. But I’m grateful to be able to live in a city as fascinating as Markarth.”</p><p>            He beamed at her. “Of course. I thought you might like it here. Just ask Calcelmo and he’ll give you a tour of his private Dwarven collection.”</p><p>            “That would be incredible, of course” she responded.</p><p>            Maric was deep in thought as he dismissed her for the day. It had been a productive first day of work, especially since they have compiled a blueprint for a model they were going to assemble tomorrow.   </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>           </p><p>           </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>